Matter Of Survival
by StSE
Summary: 07. Without the AllSpark, there's still a chance for the species survival. But it rests on the chassis of two femmes: One's a freak from hell - the other's too scared to show herself. FrenzyXRatchet "Promise Not To Tell" spin-off
1. Chapter 1

_**Forward: **__This story was inspired by: _.net/s/3746992/1/Promise_Not_to_Tell

_I used the general concept of femme sparked mechs as well as the character of the femme 'Bumblebee' from that story. Fortunately, the author P.A.W.07 – agreed to let me, Beta for me, and make sure her 'Bumblebee' was 'true to character'._

_So for the first time – I've had a co-writer! And a damned good one at that!_

**A Matter of Survival**

_Intro: As spoken by Optimus Prime.._

"For millennia, the Transformers had two ways to reproduce; The AllSpark and the 'double-sparked' femme mechs. But while the AllSpark could spark life in a multitude of chassis in a seemingly endless cycle, the femme mechs could only divide their spark twice per orbit cycle.

Because of this difference, the AllSpark became the focus when the wars first began. For whoever controlled the AllSpark, could conceivably create an endless stream of new warriors to fill their ranks. The only hindrance being the time it took to build or rebuild chassis for the AllSpark to Spark.

As they fell out of favor, the physically weaker femmes developed their minds. Being less useful on the battlefields, they understood fully that their only strength and worth lay with their intelligence. The majority of these femmes ended up siding with the Autobots; preferring our males' propensity towards strict monogamy over the Decepticon males' propensity towards promiscuity.

For eons, this situation seemed to work; since we were more than happy to keep the femmes off the front line and in support personnel positions. Rarely was a femme ever captured by the Decepticons, for they were considered less than worthless. Those few that were, died horrible deaths as they were used by a multitude of cons until they could bond no more. This only added to the femmes' general desire to align themselves with us even more tightly.

But things changed as the AllSpark was lost. Suddenly, the femmes increased in value, for they were now the only way that the factions could replenish their ranks. For a time, the Decepticons satisfied themselves by trying to capture any femme they could lay their hands on. But as the rumors of their breeding these slaves to death, came out, femmes decided to commit suicide over being captured. When the supply of femme 'breeder slaves' began to dwindle, Megatron decided that if Decepticons couldn't use them – then no one would!

An order went out to every Decepticon soldier on Cybertron, any femme seen – was to be off lined immediately! Killer squads stalked the streets and alleys, searching for any mech with the tail-tale signs of a double-sparked femme - The swollen chest plate that gave their larger spark the room it needed.

We didn't realize what was going on in time, and by the time we reacted, all of the femmes seemed to have been terminated.

But femmes had learned to depend on their minds long ago. Those few femmes that saw what was happening; Reacted quickly by forming secret pacts within their sister and mother-daughter groups. They tore each other's chassis apart, rebuilding them to resemble young male mechs. Giving each other new identities and new lives; lives now lived as males. The small pacts knew that there were other pacts, but the groups never knew each other's identities. For this was part of their plan to survive. If one pact was found, they could not reveal the others – for they simply had no knowledge.

We male mechs were never privy to this knowledge.

Most of these new 'males', infiltrated our ranks and served. Quietly waiting for the day when the Autobot side would win and they could again reveal themselves and begin the process of rebuilding the species.

A few of the new 'males', decided it would be better to hide within the Decepticon ranks. The very idea to hide beneath the nose of their sex's assassin, made them feel even safer and more assured of their own survival. Since they were physically weaker, they chose to fully take their chassis apart, and turn themselves into the smallest and most physically unattractive of 'male' mechs. Not even considered real 'mechs' by most anymore, they found their position within the con ranks as the chief intelligence gatherers. They seemed to be without opinions and eagerly performed their duties; unmolested by any of the larger male mechs.

But they were far from without opinions, as their brilliant minds kept track of the war and the primary players. They merely waited until the time would come that they would again be considered valuable. That day they would be able to ask their price, and then help to rebuild the species.

This is the story of one of those disguised Decepticon femmes. A mech only known by the nickname that the Decepticon ranks had given her based on her performance under pressure. This is the story of Frenzy."

**Transfer of a Spark**

Dodging the bullets, Frenzy darted towards the organic creatures. Her one thought was to perform her duty and stop them from communicating to the outside. A bullet hit her, causing her to scream in pain. But as she screamed, she twisted in the air and continued her attack. All the while she cursed at them in her incoherent alien language as she darted towards them.

Coming around a beam, she fired one of her shurikens at them. Swinging around in a blur, she came around the other side, trying to get a bead on the dark-skinned human that was working on the communications device. She didn't notice that her own shuriken had rechochete back towards her! As it cut her face in half, dread filled her as she realized her mistake. Falling in the floor, she twitched as her systems began to fail. Fighting desperately to keep her valuable spark from flying free of her chassis, she inched forward as she spasmed uncontrollably. When her chassis finally off lined, it fell across some power cables that lay on the floor.

As the organic creatures cheered her death, they couldn't see nor understand what had actually occurred.

As her chassis released its hold on her spark, the electric field generated by that live power cable drew her spark in. Flowing with the electrons, she zipped out of that room and explored the rest of Hoover dam in less than a blink of a human eye. Her spark knowing that it must find some type of chassis and escape this death trap! For her spark was too valuable to lose! Finding a cell phone plugged into its charger, the free spark flowed into it outt've total desperation.

Transforming, Frenzy shook, getting used to her new 'temporary' chassis. Looking around, she got her bearings, and began to make her way back up to the top of the dam. There, Bumblebee and his group of human military protectors flew by her; she grabbed one of the HumV's tires and flipped herself up into it. Transforming quickly, the cell phone slid unseen under a seat.

------

As they drove to Mission City, Frenzy again leaped out of the HumV unseen. Tumbling to the side of the road with a small cloud of dust; she hid under the cover of the long weeds in the ditch. The diminutive femme knew that she must avoid detection at all costs, for to be seen, meant they would try to off-line her again.

As the battle raged within the confines of Mission City, Frenzy sat back and put her feet up. Like all Decepticon femmes, her loyalties remained first to herself, then her sex, then to her species, and lastly to her faction – but without self preservation, the rest was meaningless was it not? She saw no reason to place her valuable spark in any further danger. After all, hadn't she just 'off lined' for the stupid Decepticon faction already that day? Yes, as far as she was concerned, the entire war was nothing but male stupidity and pride – nothing more, nothing less. And she and the other femmes had been merely considered pawns, caught in the middle by both sets of males.

She considered her possible future courses of action: if the Decepticons won, she'd simply show back up and retake her place in their ranks as the 'male' Frenzy; if the Autobots won, she'd most likely have to stay in hiding amongst the organic creatures, for the Autobots would most likely just terminate her on sight. She felt her core rising in disgust at the mere thought of having to allow those disgusting humans to 'use' her in order for her to hide! But survival was survival, no matter how degrading it was to a femme!

_What if the AllSpark was destroyed?_ She pondered that question. For if it was destroyed, and then the femme mechs' time of reemergence would be soon at hand; providing any femmes, other than her, had even survived. True, she knew of one other Decepticon femme that had come to Earth, but knowing that bitch, she was already off lined. And frankly, Frenzy could really care less. She'd hated that one for a long, long time. The only thing that had kept her from off lining her herself, was the rules of being a femme. Yes, perhaps the Autobots had done her a 'favor'? She smirked as she considered that thought.

_Hmmm, what if she was the last one? _Now this idea bothered her. Even if it meant she'd have to somewhat actually WANT that other bitch to have survived – which she didn't. _But if there were no Autobot femmes hiding within their ranks?_ Now that wouldn't be good. For the males could conceivably decide to take her as a 'breeder slave' regardless if they were Autobot or Decepticon; and without scores of femmes to band together for mutual protection and negotiating power – she'd have no recourse, no hope. That would be an unacceptable situation! Frenzy momentarily debated the concept of suicide that so many breeder femmes had used back in the con ranks. She didn't really like the idea of suicide, but it sure would beat the alternative of being raped and forced to give birth until she died.

But then an idea popped into Frenzy's CPU. _Yes, she could indeed survive and escape during the very act of a rape! By using her own spark's abilities! _Frenzy smiled deviously. She'd just keep a cell phone chassis within her future chassis, and if any mech forcibly copulated with her. She'd simply transfer her spark right before the mating connection was completed. Then while the male was out in overload, she'd scamper off and make her escape!

_What to do in the worst case scenario? __If she was truly 'the last femme'? _A very disturbing scenario indeed! But then Decepticon femmes had discovered something that their hidden Autobot counterparts hadn't: they could easily transfer their spark to a new chassis! This is how Frenzy had survived her 'death' back at the dam. _But could this also be used to give myself protection? _She pondered. Yes, if some of the male mechs off lined, and their chassis were somehow repairable, she could just reanimate their empty chassis with her spark.

She continued to watch the battle. Her sharp mind calculating each faction's chances, her optics watching as each warrior fell. Taking a chassis count of who was off lined, putting a value of desirability on each of the now empty chassis. Then, as the human put the AllSpark within Megatron – Frenzy's blue optics lit up with anticipation.

_Yes! Yes! The AllSpark was destroyed!! The femme's time to rise was soon to come! _She thought with glee. Her little chassis started to vibrate in sheer excitement. For now she was one of the most valuable Cybertronians functioning! She was their future, and they would pay dearly for her ability. Now she just had to find a way to get inside one of those now-empty chassis. She really didn't care which one, though the Decepticon chassis that were now available were much higher in desirability due to their higher strength and firepower. But beggars can't be choosers – any of them would allow her to protect herself better than the tiny chassis she was currently stuck in!

Making her way unseen to the battlefield of fading smoke and flame, Frenzy reconned the situation fully. Sliding from hiding spot to hiding spot, she seemed to dance amongst the confusion and chaos. The skilled hacker easily made her way to the very center of the 'action'. Her blue optics gleamed as she darted to a spot just twenty feet from Optimus as he staggered to his feet. Her optics roved over the off lined mechs around her. There were now at least four empty chassis she could choose from; three being the preferred Decepticon chassis – one being the Autobot chassis. She watched silently as the Autobots loaded the con chassis's onto a military transport, her blue optics narrowing in disgust as she listened to the plans of 'disposal'. She wouldn't have time to repair and re-animate any of them!

Then she focused on the Autobot medic, whom was helping the heavily damaged Bumblebee onto a flatbed. He set the two halves of the now available Autobot chassis gently down next to the yellow mech. Patting it gently, he promised the empty chassis that they'd build it a proper tomb and keep him safe and in their thoughts. This chassis was truly the 'least preferable' of all of them, being the smallest and weakest of all the mechs on this planet, well, except her old one. But it still offered more protection to her valuable spark than this minuscule chassis she was now residing in!

A grin crossed Frenzy's face, for if they built a 'proper' Cybertronian tomb, then it would be more than easy to quietly repair the chassis. For in 'proper' burials, Cybertronians always set the pieces of the off lined mech together as if he was still alive. They also built these monuments, which were basically small, sealed rooms where the chassis would lay for eternity. _Yes, a perfect place to sneak in and repair the chassis unseen! _She rubbed her hands together in anticipation, her engines revving in excitement.

Now she knew that she had to infiltrate the Autobots in order to stay near her future chassis. Glancing up at the gullible humans around her, her optics settled on the one called 'Sam'. He was a friend to the Autobots, so she knew that he'd end up staying near them. Stealthily, Frenzy crept up to Sam as he was being checked out by a paramedic. Transforming, she let him sit on her.

"Ow! What the?" Sam exclaimed as he reached under his butt. Every movement was painful, his whole body feeling like he'd been run over by several trains! His fingers curled around a cell phone. Picking it up, he dusted it off. Other than a few scuff marks, his phone appeared to be fine! Flipping it open, he frowned as he realized that the knocks it had taken during his adventures, seemed to have wiped its memory clean.

Shrugging, he stuck it in his back pocket. He'd just have to reprogram it, that's all.

---

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	2. Finding out Secrets

**Finding out Secrets**

"How's Bumblebee doing?" Frenzy heard Sam ask. His voice had the sound of concern in it.

"Oh, he's ready for a test drive, I do believe," Ratchet's voice replied. She could hear the humor in the medic's voice as the sound of metal patting metal could be heard. Most likely, the medic patting his patient as he nodded to the human, Frenzy deducted as she resisted the urge to roll her optics. Autobot medics were pushovers, if he were a Decepticon medic; there would be a violent shove out of his way instead of a gentle pat. Ah, she was missing the good old days already!

The sounds of a mech getting up were quickly followed by light mech feet walking towards them. "So, where do you want to go?" a youthful sounding mech voice asked.

She felt Sam move, walking towards Bumblebee even as the sounds of his transformation filled her audios. "I dunno, wanna just cruise?" Sam's voice asked. The sound of a car door opening, then Frenzy felt weight on top of her, as the human sat down.

"Now you don't go and overdo it youngster!" Ratchet's voice hollered at them as they drove out of the warehouse. Truly pathetic! Frenzy snorted in her mind. Acting like their warriors were nothing more than mere sparklings! Decepticons could care less, once you were repaired; you went back to the front lines – period.

"I need to get this outta my pocket, it's killing my ass!" Sam grumbled. Frenzy felt fingers around her as she was pulled out of his pocket and set down in an empty drink holder. She was quite pleased, since now she could also get a visual of the situation. Granted, she really didn't want to know what that stickiness beneath her was. She felt her core rising in disgust at how nasty this Autobot allowed himself to get because of these pathetic flesh creatures!

"Ahh, much better! You got any cool tunes Bumblebee?" the boy asked as he grinned at the steering wheel.

The mech put something on the radio, the blaring high-ends and low-ends piercing Frenzy's sensitive audios. Dampening her data inflow levels, she compensated for the obnoxious noise by reducing her sensitivity to it. She was amazed that these frequencies weren't blowing the yellow mech's own audios!

They drove around for a while, with Sam showing Bumblebee all the 'cool spots' in his town. Stopping briefly at a drive through, the boy got himself some of that organic goo that these humans needed for sustenance. Frenzy was forced to lower her Olfactory Sensor sensitivity levels as well, for she found the scent of this organic mess fairly repulsive. But yet again, the Autobot didn't seem to be bothered in the least, as the human stuffed the noxious stuff into his mouth.

"Hey, why don't we pick up Mikaela?" Sam asked Bumblebee. Frenzy groaned internally, for now she'd have to put up with two of the obnoxious creatures – instead of one!

The Autobot turned down a few streets, while the boy stuffed all of his food trash into its bag. Frenzy watched him in silent amusement as he seemed to be checking himself for scuff marks in Bumblebee's rearview mirror.

Sam picked her up and flipped her open, dialing Mikaela's phone number. As his greasy fingers spread the rather disgusting organic molecules of his meal all over her, Frenzy had to fight her natural inclination to transform and kick his aft for the perceived insult to her finish. The close up exhalation of yet more of those 'chili' molecules into her receiver added yet more insult to injury. Shutting off her olfactory sensors completely, Frenzy promised herself she'd one day get even with the rude human.

Bumblebee stopped and opened his passenger door, and the female called 'Mikaela' slid in, her heels clicking softly on the floorboards and a little too close for comfort as far as Frenzy was concerned. For now her olfactory sensors were abused with the over stimulation from this human female's perfume; which was far worse than the male's scent! How these flesh creatures thought this was 'attractive' was beyond her comprehension!

"So where're we going?" she asked Sam as she slid her seatbelt on, a soft smile planted on her pouty lips. Her eyes hinted at her true thoughts.

Sam set Frenzy back in the drink holder. Shrugging, he grinned at the female, "I don't know, where do you want to go?"

Frenzy thought of a good answer: _Straight to the end of the docks and tie cement blocks to your freagin legs while you're at it!_ But unfortunately, she couldn't tell the idiotic human that.

"Well, there's a cool movie playing at the old drive in that they just re-opened. Want to go?" the girl murmured, a glint in her eye that just whispered trouble.

Sam slapped Bumblebee's steering wheel as excitement buzzed through his body along with rabid teenage hormones. Not that he was going to tell Bumblebee that. "Hey, you ever seen a movie Bumblebee?"

"What's that?" the mech asked innocently, not catching the taunting grins that were thrown between the two humans.

The two humans exchanged a humorous glance this time, and then Mikaela leaned forward, her hair falling forward in a wave. "It's like a visual and audio recording of an imaginary story, where humans pretend that it's real. They're called actors."

"Oh, so it's not real?"

Sam grinned at Mikaela. "Nope, it's just for entertainment. Like, to waste some time for a while."

"So you just waste time and watch a recording of an imaginary situation?" the mech sounded confused. Granted, Frenzy was even more confused as she listened, for it was completely illogical to 'waste time' in this manner.

"Pretty much, but it's fun!" Mikaela said.

"Ok, I like fun," Bumblebee told her.

Frenzy wanted to slap some sense in the stupid Autobot's mainframe! Sloggers, did he REALLY think it'd be 'fun' to waste time in such an illogical fashion?!

So Sam told him where to go; and the Autobot began to drive them there.

Frenzy did not understand these Autobots' tolerance in the least. Decepticons never lowered themselves to this level of being used as a mere transport device. It was far beneath them, since these humans were so technologically primitive compared to them. This made her wonder about their potential value as mates for her. For she didn't want her future sparklings to turn into idiots like this; but beggars couldn't be choosers – and these damned dolts were the only mech males around!

Perhaps, now that she might possibly be the last femme in existence – and the Autobots the only faction with available males – she should learn more about them? Regardless of if she liked it or not. This was the talent that Frenzy and her sisters had developed to a very fine art indeed! They were able to connect to a mech and download what they needed, without the mech ever knowing it. And they were able to do this without revealing that they were femmes. They never allowed their victim's spark to even sense theirs, even as they pushed through it to get to their memory banks.

So she began to beep the cell phone alert for a 'low battery'. She snickered mischievously in her meta even as she did it.

"Damnit! I thought I had this thing on the charger last night," Sam's voice said. Frenzy felt him pick her up. Then she was flipped open as he looked at how much battery was left. Frenzy made sure to display that she was almost 'dead'. The boy groaned in total disgust as he roughly shut the phone.

"Just plug it in. A little battery like that ain't nothin'," Bumblebee's voice offered.

"Ok, Bumblebee, are you sure?" asked the boy in an uncertain tone. He didn't know if it would hurt the young mech, but he had a feeling that it would at least be invading personal space. Oh well, if 'Bee said it was okay, than it must. Who was he to tell a two-ton walking car it was wrong?

"Go for it, would hate for you to miss a call."

Frenzy grinned inside as she felt the charging cable plugged into her. These humans and Autobots were so damned gullible! When the other end connected to the Autobot, she began her information gathering; sorting through file after file, looking at personnel, future plans, etc. Within a few seconds, she had the information she needed. But then she sensed something strange about the mech's spark

"Man, your phone is pulling more off than I thought. Is it charged yet?" Bumblebee's voice interrupted Frenzy's thoughts.

She was picked up and flipped open again. This time she decided to show a three-quarter charge. "Good enough until we get home I guess…" Sam's voice replied as he disconnected the power line.

Frenzy felt herself being set back down into the empty drink holder. Then, as they continued to drive, she went back to her contemplation of the unexpected sensation.

As she'd been taught, she listed a few things in her Meta:

_One: Bumblebee's spark didn't feel like the other mechs she'd downloaded off of._

_Two: Bumblebee seemed like a young male mech._

_Three: According to the amount of memory files in him, Bumblebee had too long of a lifespan to still appear this young._

_Four: The only other mech she'd ever sensed this type of spark__ energy__ from – was her sister, Rumble._

After going through her list twice, there was only one logical conclusion. Bumblebee was in fact a disguised Autobot femme!

Frenzy found this fact rather intriguing, for now that she'd found another femme, there was still the possibility that others had survived. And besides self-preservation, sex preservation was of the utmost importance to the femmes. For without either of these, species preservation – was doomed! So, the yellow femme was a possible future ally.

She wondered why the yellow femme continued to stay in such a small chassis. For this would not help the cause of the femmes in their future 'negotiations' if they were so physically weak, that the males could simply come in, grab them and rape them at their leisure. But perhaps Bumblebee had a reason that she couldn't decipher.

Grinning to herself, Frenzy couldn't wait until she had her new chassis. Then she'd get this femme to join her! For two standing together, could accomplish far more than negotiating separately.

---

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	3. Rebuilding the Fallen

**Rebuilding the Fallen**

"Man, we sure do miss you," Ironhide mumbled. Standing with the others in quiet salute to their fallen comrade, he and rest of the Autobots watched as Optimus gently laid the two halves of Jazz gently in his crypt. The hardened warrior still couldn't quite believe that he'd never have to listen to Jazz's jabs about 'his lack of style' anymore. He'd give anything to have the silver mech leave his aft in the dust again!

Fumbling with the corpse, the big mech tried to arrange it so that Jazz looked 'whole' again. He thanked Primus for his mask, for he didn't want the others to see just how tore up he was about his old friend's demise. He had loved Jazz as a brother, and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had to go into battle without the energetic little mech by his side. Now he faced this new life alone, a fact even more painful than the realization that their species was now facing extinction.

Many humans were also gathered around, their tears and quite sobs breaking the stony silence. Few had known him, but all had seen his bravery in protecting their world from destruction. To them, he was now something of a brother.

"You were a good soldier and true friend – to the very end. We will always remember you, Jazz," Optimus said the simple eulogy in a somber tone. His hidden lips trembled slightly as he tried desperately to keep from breaking down in front of them all.

Ironhide helped him to slowly close the heavy metal plated door. His core felt as heavy as the entire planet of Cybertron. Then they all stood and looked at the monument that they had built to honor the hero laying within.

Slowly, the group dispersed, each one needing some time alone to remember the cheerful mech that they'd never see again.

In Sam's back pocket, there was one mech who was not sad in the least. In fact, her thoughts concerning the empty chassis were one of glee. For soon, very soon, she'd have a decent chassis for her spark to call home again. Chuckling to herself, she thought it was quite ironic that Jazz's death would cause the one thing that he had died for – the saving of his own species from extinction! So as the rest of the mechs remembered his loss with a sense of deep sadness and prayed that he would rest in peace, Frenzy actually thanked the Autobot for dying.

As Sam sat and held the sobbing Mikaela; Frenzy slid out of his pocket and disappeared in the long grass. Her blue optics dancing in glee as she considered the work ahead of her – and the future of her life beyond that.

Making her way unseen to the monument, she scuttled around it looking for an entrance. She soon located a hole within one of the cement seams; where the cement had been poured too fast and had cracked. Pushing some of the underlying gravel away, Frenzy scuttled through the crevice and into the dark interior.

Switching her optics to infrared, she easily made out the still sun-warmed chassis lying on the cement deathbed. Jumping up on it, the tiny femme darted into his damaged regions, taking note of the extent of damage both inside and out, and making a list of materials and tools she would need to repair it. Finished with her exam, she jumped on top of the chassis and scurried towards its face.

Studying what once was Jazz's face, she imagined it as hers. She did have to admit, that though this chassis was the least desirable one, because he was so small and light, Jazz did have the best looking façade of all of the emptied chassis'. So, perhaps, it wouldn't be too terribly bad having this chassis. She'd at least be the fastest and most agile of the ground mechs. If she was smart, then she could use those traits to her advantage.

As night fell, Frenzy darted out of the monument. First, she'd need a slightly bigger chassis in order to do the repairs; and second, she'd need to start collecting the parts and the tools that she would need.

Scuttling off into the night, she made her way to the first pawnshop she could find. Sliding in through a mouse hole, she wandered up and down the aisles, looking for the perfect temporary chassis to transfer her spark into. Ending up in the music equipment section, Frenzy found herself studying a Marshal Head. The input system was sturdily built, and when her spark entered it, she figured it would make her about four feet tall, but heavier built than her old chassis. Not as shiny though, a shame.

Satisfied, she flipped the 'on' switch to the unit. Sitting on top of it, she could feel the electric field generated by the power flow. Reaching over the front of it, she stuck one of her tiny metal appendages into its input plug. With a slight flash, her spark left the cell phone and entered the unit. The dance of electricity flowed briefly over the surface of the unit, then it suddenly transformed. Jumping off the stack of amplifiers, the new transformer didn't even notice the cell phone falling in between the shelves like a forgotten skin.

Frenzy stretched her neck from side-to-side, enjoying the feel of this new chassis. Chattering happily to herself in Cybertronian, she grabbed some shopping bags from behind the counter, and started to collect the tools and parts that she needed. Walking back and forth, picking up items. She'd study them briefly and either toss them into her bag, or discard them by casually tossing them behind her. Continuing her endless stream of banter in her strange language, she went to the back storage room and grabbed several computer hard drives and CPUs right out of the upright modules.

Deciding it was time to leave; she went into the store's bathroom and pried the window open. Leaping out into the night, the little mech carried her heavy bags the five miles back to the monument. Quickly, she dug out more of the gravel from around her crevice, making it just large enough for her to squeeze through. After getting everything shoved inside – including herself – she turned and piled the gravel back up behind her, carefully hiding her entrance from the outside world.

Chattering merrily, the little femme began to do her repairs. She joked with the off lined mech, as if he was still alive, even as she prepared his empty chassis for herself. Really, he was great company for this lonely job, and the quite the gentleman about it too. All he did was listen; just like all mechs should do.

----

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Sam's father yelled at him. He was truly disgusted with the boy. Stealing?! Stealing!? If there weren't cops all around him, he'd kick Sam's ass all over the room! God, he was so ashamed. Hadn't he taught the boy better?

… Apparently not.

Sitting in front of the police detective's desk, the youth merely shrugged. "I'm telling you – I didn't do it!!" he said for the twentieth time. He truly didn't do it! But he couldn't tell them where he had been that night! If his dad found out that he'd snuck out to be with Mikaela, alone – he'd get a far worse punishment than for just stealing. Well, maybe, it mattered how excited mom and dad were about having grandchildren. Not that Mikaela was pregnant … at least he didn't hope so. Damn, when was her last menstrual cycle?

On second thought, he'd rather stay away from that subject matter.

"Then why in the hell did they find YOUR cell phone inside that pawn shop!" his dad responded. He was totally outraged that HIS son could be this stupid!! And he dreaded what his wife would think when they got home.

Detective Burbank wondered if he was going to have to restrain the father, but it did feel good to see that some of these delinquents had parents that actually gave a damn. He kind've wished that he had a hidden camera at this kid's home, for the eventual ass-whooping that this enraged father was going to give the thief – would be very satisfying for the cops to watch.

"I don't know! Don't you believe me – I didn't do it!" Sam yelled back. He knew he didn't do it! But how in the hell could he convince them without revealing what he'd actually been doing?! He gulped in fear that his father would find the condom wrapper in his pocket. Now that would be, totally – the worst! _'__Not as worse as Mikaela being pregnant_', whispered Sam's brain. He merely hissed for it to shut up and let him think. It merely replayed, 'Well_, I was thinking … about Mikaela being pregnant.'_ Sam merely told his head to shut up and his head reply, '_Well, that's what got you into the mess in the first place. You weren't thinking.'_

And the conversation with himself kind of went in a downward spiral like that until his father's voice broke into his thoughts, once more.

"Well, I'm bailing you out, but you're grounded until the court date! And you're going to repaint the ENTIRE house to pay the attorney's fees!" the enraged father yelled back. And he was going to make the little thief power spray the whole damned house as well. All the while, he'd make sure to put his favorite lawn chair in the yard, grab a beer and 'supervise' the entire job.

"But I didn't –" Sam stuttered, his eyes on the floor in shame over what he'd really been doing that night.

"Just shut up!" Sam's dad grabbed his arm and began to drag him out of the police station. He was going to stop by the hardware store on the way home. And by God, Sam was going to start working on the house that very day!

Several policemen chuckled after the front door shut, all of them thinking the very same thing.

"I'd hate to be that kid!" one joked. His eyes gleamed as he pictured the enraged father sitting on a lawn chair with a beer, watching the little thief slave away on the house's siding.

"Wish more parents of delinquents were like him!" another added. He envisioned quite a few other delinquents that he'd love to drop off at that guy's house.

"You and me both!" Detective Burbank agreed. He chuckled at the mere thought of that kid not able to sit down for days.

"By the way, did you find anything when you searched his house?" His Sergeant asked, as he poked his head out of his office. He had kept the door open, so that he could enjoy the sounds of an enraged parent going after a delinquent; made his heart feel warm and fuzzy to see a parent like that.

"Nope, but the kid's probably got a friend that he takes the hot shit too." Burbank shrugged, since this was pretty common. He'd check the other pawnshops over the next few days, see if he spotted anything.

"True. Kid was pretty stupid dropping his cell phone like that," the Sergeant said as he chuckled. He liked it when young criminals were that stupid. Made their work easier and perhaps the delinquents would get so scared they wouldn't try it again.

"Yep, won't make a good criminal that way!" Many cops laughed in agreement with that statement.

----

"Bumblebee, where's Sam? Haven't seen him around here in days," Optimus asked. He was concerned about the human, since Sam had been hanging out with them almost every afternoon since they made their 'home' here in this empty warehouse that the government had given them.

The little yellow mech shrugged, "he got into some trouble. The cops are saying he stole some stuff from a pawn shop last Tuesday night." Granted, Bee knew he hadn't done it. But somehow the cops thought he had, and since Bee couldn't very well vouch for him due to the fact he didn't 'technically' exist, he was trying to keep his aft out of it.

"Wasn't he with you and Mikaela that night?" Ratchet queried. He lifted his optic ridge in interest at Bee's obvious omission. The youngling was acting strange … the little fragger better not have been helping Sam with his juvenile activities, or he'd be getting an exhaust flush early.

"Um, yep." Bumblebee rubbed his armor nervously, not wanting to meet anyone's optics. Not that it mattered; Ratchet was already giving him the glare. What? She hadn't did anything wrong – legally; morally, well, that mattered on one's personal opinion.

"Well, then he's got an alibi," Prime reasoned. Shrugging, he nodded towards the yellow mech, figuring that Bumblebee should just go and straighten everything out.

"Uh, sort of. But he kind've snuck out of the house that night." Bumblebee shifted nervously from foot to foot. He felt sort of embarrassed by it all, since everything was supposed to be a secret between him and Sam.

"You've got to be kidding!" Ironhide stated. His optics widened in outrage, since the mech had disobeyed a direct order about following Sam's parent's rules concerning 'sneaking out.'

"I specifically told you not to do that," Optimus said, his blue optics getting a hard gleam to them as he looked down at the fidgeting mech. He knew Bumblebee was young, but damn! The mech had always followed his orders. What the hell had gotten into the yellow mech? He had been acting strange ever since the Allspark had been destroyed.

"Well, I know, but he and Mikaela wanted to – well uh… You know…" Bumblebee stammered. If he could blush, he would've – but it really hadn't seemed like a bad idea at the time…Really it hadn't. But now, well, that stain would probably never come out, and she sure wasn't going to be letting any others join it.

"Wanted to what?" Ironhide demanded to know. His optics narrowed, he knew the small mech was trying to hide something – and nothing ticked off Ironhide more than an evasive mech!

Bumblebee kept his optics on the ground as he nervously fidgeted under the glare of the three bigger mechs.

Ratchet studied him, realizing exactly what the two humans must've wanted 'to do'. Clearing his throat he looked over at the fairly dense Ironhide. "I believe the humans wanted to mate." He raised his optic ridges in humor at the entire situation. Well, it was bound to happen to someone sooner or later … at least it wasn't him.

"Sloggers! Mate? You've got to be kidding! And you let them in – " Ironhide's optics got very big with outrage. This was beyond being 'friends' with the darned human, this was being used by him. And here Bumblebee was supposed to be HIS guardian. The weapons master wanted to strangle the mech right then and there for his stupidity! But he'd resist … youngling were supposed to be dumb, but this kind of borderline retarded. Maybe he should have Ratchet look into that later.

Bumblebee merely nodded, looking down at his feet in shame. It hadn't seemed like a bad idea – at the time…. And he'd do anything that Sam asked. Anything.

Optimus sighed as he rolled his optics. "You know better than that Bumblebee. So I guess you get to help Ratchet build his new workshop as punishment." Though he loved the youngling like he was his own, Prime just couldn't believe that the mech had been so gullible. It was kind of funny though, but it wasn't a very commander-like thing to do and laugh at him. He'd do it once he got to the privacy, and thick walls, of his office.

With that Ironhide and Optimus left him, shaking their heads at the stupidity of younglings.

Ratchet studied Bumblebee. "I'm guessing that Sam would rather plead guilty than tell his dad what he was really doing, hmmm?" He wasn't pissed at Bumblebee like the others. In fact, he found the entire situation a rather fascinating study of young human – young mech interaction.

Bumblebee nodded, still keeping his optics locked on his feet. He was glad that he was stuck working for Ratchet. Ya, he'd work his aft off – but at least Ratchet didn't seemed ticked off or disappointed like the other two were. He did feel bad that he wouldn't see his buddy, Sam, for a while. But eventually they'd get to go cruising again … and then the open road would allow him to forget. To forget everything: the Allspark, the war, and his secret. That last one was always the hardest to forget.

"Well, come on, there's a lot of work to be done!" Ratchet said. Grabbing the yellow mech by a door panel, he dragged his reluctant 'helper' into the warehouse.

----

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	4. A New Life

**To Live Another Life**

Finally finished with the primary structural and system repairs, Frenzy delved into the hardest part of making this chassis suitable for her. It was time to change its reproductive systems from male – to female.

Taking off the protective armor from the pelvic and abdominal regions, Frenzy located the transfer apparatus. Giggling, she patted Jazz's empty chassis. "Won't need this anymore!" she snickered as she disconnected and removed the entire assembly. In her Meta, she could just imagine the male Autobot cringing, which caused her to giggle even more. "Oh well, males ain't worth much these days. So you'll be worth far more soon." She patted the chassis while she consoled it for its lost masculinity.

Shuffling through her pile of mechanical supplies, she found the receiver assembly that she had built. Grinning mischievously, she picked up the discarded transfer apparatus and connected it to the car battery by her feet. Activating it, she watched in amusement as the transfer apparatus extended out and plugged into the receiving unit firmly. "He, he, your final act of copulation," she snickered to the dead Jazz. Checking to make sure everything smoothly fit together, Frenzy was satisfied.

Disconnecting the transfer apparatus, she carelessly tossed it away. Then she climbed up on the chassis again and installed the new receiver apparatus, making sure that it was well-secured to the chassis' primary structural elements.

Hopping back down, she went back to her stack and pulled out what appeared to be a rectangular metal box. Setting the three foot by eighteen inch box on her shoulder, she climbed back up. Struggling to get it in position in the abdominal region, she carefully arranged the chassis' wiring around it. Securing it with both metal bolt and straps, she stood up and jumped up and down on it a few times. It didn't budge!

Working for the next few hours, she connected a shielding system around the box. Then she ran power and bonding transfer lines from the chassis' primary systems and the receiving apparatus, and connected them to ports on the backside of the box.

"Time to birth nothing, he, he,.." she snickered. Flipping a switch, she activated the 'birthing' systems. The box opened the top half of its front cover, then the bottom half. As the doors slid open, they protected the sensitive wiring on either side. Within the now open box, were two compartments of equal size.

Beating everything with her fist, Frenzy checked to make sure that all important systems were well protected. For when a transformer was first sparked, they could be very violent little creatures upon their initial release from their mother's containment box. Frenzy and her sister had actually killed their mother by accident, because one of her primary power lines hadn't been protected in the birthing process.

And Frenzy sure as hell didn't want to end up the same way!

----

It had taken her a few weeks of tedious work, and several more nights of 'shopping trips' at various electronics and hardware stores in the area, but Frenzy was almost finished! Running her hands along her future chassis, she enjoyed the feel of the smooth metal under her fingertips. But there was one thing left to do. So, waiting until dark, she slid out of the monument and wandered off.

Coming back right at daybreak, the femme slid back into the monument. Her blue optics glimmered, as she began to give the chassis a good coat of wax. After many eons of hiding in a mere shadow of a transformer chassis, she'd finally have a 'real' chassis again! Rubbing the smooth metal surface, she thought back to her sister. Yes, Rumble had been the only mech she'd ever allowed herself to love. They'd been twins, they'd done everything together! Back in the Decepticon ranks the two tiny 'males' had been bond mates; but in reality it was just a way to escape the notice of the bigger males. To protect each other; and when they'd lain in each other's arms, they'd actually been able to forget about the whole stupid male war briefly.

Frenzy stopped for a second and banged her helm lightly on the chassis. It wasn't right that Rumble hadn't made it! All of their plans for a future without hiding had been as a team! And then freagin' Starscream had come back to base in a huff, and grab the first hacker he could lay his hands on! He'd torn Rumble in two, not even realizing that he'd just off-lined a transformer that was worth a hundred of him.

Rubbing her hands on Jazz's chassis, Frenzy promised her off-lined sister one thing. She'd get even with Starscream. And with this chassis, she'd tear him apart slowly, piece-by-piece until the slogger begged for mercy!

-----

Mikaela shook her head. She'd been sitting on the hill overlooking the warehouse, when movement near Jazz's burial site caught her eye. It was too far away to make out what kind've rodent or vermin was over there, and just the thought of a critter making its home in there, gave her the creeps. Standing up, she figured that she'd better tell Ratchet about it when she saw him.

---

Finally finished with waxing the chassis, Frenzy's optics danced with excitement as she opened a panel and flipped the power core switch. Power flowed through the unanimated chassis, activating its new battle computer and Meta. Frenzy felt the pull from the electric field on her spark. Sticking one of her fingers into a USP port, her spark flew into the chassis in the blink of an optic.

Activating her optics, Frenzy-Jazz slowly stretched. Sitting up, she bent her head from one side to the other, enjoying the feel of having a real chassis again! Running a systems check, she was very pleased to find that all systems were at full power and full functioning. Testing her sensory grids, she began to scan around her.

That's when she heard the muffled sound of mech and human footsteps and voices heading towards the monument.

"I know I saw some kind of animal digging under the wall." Mikaela's voice was saying.

"Hmmm, before sun up? Sounds like a nocturnal creature. Perhaps a skunk or possum." The voice of the Autobot medic answered.

They walked around the monument, stopping at Frenzy's entrance. She could hear the mech kneel down as he studied it.

"Yes, most definitely some kind of small animal has dug here. Perhaps I should open the door and scare it out. Then we can patch the hole." Ratchet's voice said.

"But what if it's a skunk?" the human asked.

The medic chuckled, "then I'd say that you might want to stand back."

Frenzy tensed as she heard him walk around the building towards the main access door. Her systems prepared for immediate action. She was not ready to negotiate with the bigger males just yet! So she just had to escape!

"Damned this thing is heavy!" Ratchet complained, as he slowly lifted the door, his gears whimpering at the extra strain.

Suddenly, the sound of peeling tires filled the air, and Ratchet fell down as a silver Pontiac took his legs out from under him. Freed of the Autobot, the Solstice burned rubber as it sped away from them.

"What in the hell!?" Mikaela yelled, "That was Jazz!"

"But there's no way, I tried... I couldn't bring him back!" Ratchet stammered in disbelief as he struggled back to his feet.

"Hell if I know! But transform and lets go after him!" she yelled.

Still dumbfounded and in total shock, Ratchet transformed. Mikaela jumped in, and they set off after the rapidly disappearing form of Jazz.

"I'm too slow to catch him, let me radio the others," Ratchet said, huffing as he pushed as fast as he could go, his engine hammering in dissatisfaction.

Shortly, Bumblebee flew by him, in hot pursuit of the silver Pontiac. Optimus and Ironhide pulled alongside him, throwing up gravel as they sped forward.

"Is it really Jazz?!" Ironhide shouted in disbelief. But elation was filling his core! If it was Jazz…..

"Well, it sure looked like him," Mikaela yelled through Ratchet's open window, her hair whipping in the wind due to the speed.

"How could this happen, Ratchet?" Optimus asked. The sound of hope mixed with confusion within his voice. If his old friend was alive…..

"Honestly Prime, I've got not a clue!" the medic replied. But regardless of how it happened, Ratchet was truly elated that Jazz might be functioning!

"Well, the only one fast enough to even get close to him is Bumblebee," growled the Weapon's specialist as he started to slow down, allowing Optimus to pass him.

"Ironhide, you keep tabs of what's going on – while Ratchet and I go back to the monument and see if there are any clues." Optimus just had to know.. Had to see for himself that Jazz's chassis was really not lying there broken and empty anymore.

"No problem, Prime!" Ironhide drawled as he floored it. He knew fully that he was only going to be able to maintain radio link with the speedy mechs. So he drove up to the top of a big hill, stopped, and began to scan the Autobot frequencies.

Prime and Ratchet turned around and headed back towards Jazz's burial monument.

-----

In total excitement at the prospect of seeing his old friend alive again, Bumblebee pushed himself as fast as he could. But still, Jazz seemed to be disappearing!

Trying to radio his old friend, Bee begged him to stop.

----

Scanning, Frenzy-Jazz realized that the heavier mechs had all disengaged, leaving just the disguised femme on her tail. _Perfect! _She thought with glee.

As the yellow femme radioed her, she did not reply, though she did slow down; just enough for the yellow Camaro to actually keep up.

Another twenty miles flew under their speeding tires, and finally, Frenzy-Jazz found a secluded valley and stopped. Transforming, she waited calmly for Bumblebee, leaning against a large boulder as if she'd been standing there for hours.

Coming around the corner at close to one hundred and fifty mph, Bumblebee smoked her brakes as she tried desperately to stop. Sliding right past Frenzy-Jazz, she transformed and ran towards what she thought was her old friend, her optics brightening in excitement

Allowing Bumblebee to grab her in a hug, Frenzy couldn't help but chuckle. "I've never had an Autobot so happy to see me."

Realizing that Jazz's voice sounded different, Bumblebee backed off in wary confusion. "Who… What..?" she stammered in her young male mech voice.

Frenzy-Jazz stood up and lazily stretched, "I must say, this is a hell of a chassis – wouldn't you agree?"

"You're not Jazz," stated the yellow femme warily, as she pulled out her guns. Hissing viciously she glared at the familiar chassis – who was now not her friend. "Then who are you?!" she growled.

"Now, now, sisters don't fight each other when we know that we are femmes. Or have you forgotten the rules?" Frenzy-Jazz cocked her head in amusement, not raising her own weapons, nor making any other aggressive movements. She was intrigued at how her Autobot counterpart would take the news that she'd been found out so easily. For femmes prided themselves on never being noticed.

Bumblebee's optics widened in shock, her mouth fell open. Trembling with anxiety, she slowly lowered her gun. This mech knew her secret! This was bad, this was so bad. And to top it off, this 'Jazz' claimed to be a femme! With a slight wearing whine from the femme's engine, she stammered, "Who are you?"

Still keeping her non-aggressive posture, Frenzy-Jazz smiled. "You'd know me as Frenzy."

"But, but – you're dead!" the yellow femme stuttered, taking a nervous step back in disbelief.

"Ya, and so's Jazz – but who'd counting?" Frenzy-Jazz joked. Cocking her head at the Autobot femme, she chuckled.

"But how?"

Frenzy-Jazz snickered, "If you Autobot femmes haven't already figured it out – then its not my place to tell you."

Bumblebee gulped as she tried to still her door wings from shivering. She couldn't show this 'femme' 'con her fear of being exposed as a femme. Of course, at the moment, that fear was nothing compared to the terror that she was talking to two DEAD mechs; that seemed to be combined! She had to stop going to those horror movies with Sam and Mikaela; it was messing with her processors.

"Why are you so afraid? Aren't you glad to see another femme?" Frenzy-Jazz asked, a little confused, "With the AllSpark destroyed, it's now our time to rise to the forefront and ask our price from the males." After all, this is what they'd planned and waited to do for eons. Slaving away in the male's stupid war as mindless youngling males!

Bumblebee shook her head, taking another step back. This was a nightmare! "N – no, I don't want them to know." Her blue optics quickly darted around in fear, praying that none of the other mechs had tapped into their communications and were listening in.

"Why not? That's why we've hidden for so long. We are the future. We can make them do as we want." Frenzy was beginning to wonder about this femme. She just didn't seem strong, like the hidden Decepticon femmes that Frenzy was used to. The males needed THEM – far more than the femmes needed the males now.

Looking down at her feet, the yellow femme shifted nervously, curling and un-curling her hands into fists. "But, but then we'd have to – "

Frenzy-Jazz quickly interpreted with a slight hiss in her voice as she caught onto what the other femme was about to say, "That's what we were created to do. Why are you so afraid?!" Frenzy-Jazz demanded. This illogical fear was totally confusing to her!

Bumblebee looked up, her door wings twitching, giving away her stressed mood. "I don't want to. If they knew – they'd … force me … and I-I."

This femme was afraid to breed!!! Frenzy-Jazz opened her optics wide in shock. She'd never met a femme who was afraid to do what they were created to do! There was only one answer to this: this Autobot femme was weak and pathetic; definitely not the type that could stand next to her and negotiate with the males. But then again, if this femme didn't want to be known – then the males would think Frenzy was the only one. She could have more influence if she played her cards right.

She made up her mind, she didn't need this femme. This femme would only weaken her negotiating position with the males.

"You keep your mouth shut, and so shall I," she told the femme, her optics glinting, "You just tell them that you weren't able to catch me. And do not interfere with my future plans." Her tone told Bumblebee that she was deadly serious; If the Autobot even thought about interfering, her secret would be out – and her former 'male friends' would then force her to breed.

Bumblebee gulped as she felt her engine tremble in shame; it tore her inside to be making a deal with a con, even if that con was a femme, but she couldn't risk being revealed. She just couldn't. "You aren't going to try and kill my friends?"

"Well, no, then they're useless for breeding," Frenzy-Jazz chuckled. Her optics gleamed in amusement at the very idea.

The yellow femme nearly collapsed in shock, "Y-you are going to breed with them!?"

"What else is there to do? Might as well have a little fun!" Frenzy-Jazz snickered, before her face grabbed a more serious expression, "You just stay out of my way, and your secret is safe," She snickered. For now all three males would be solely hers, and she wouldn't have to share her position of 'power' with this pathetically weak femme. To top it off, Bumblebee would be the 'youngling' in charge of babysitting the future sparklings. Frenzy grinned devilishly, for the yellow femme's fear – would now force her to do everything the Decepticon would ask her to do.

With that final warning, Frenzy-Jazz transformed and disappeared in the distance, throwing up a cloud of dust as she went and leaving 'Bee behind with only her thoughts for company.

---

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	5. Mystery Mech

**Mystery Mech**

"Well, these are bags and boxes of those stolen items from the rash of burglaries that have been going on as of late," Ratchet said. Holding out the collection of items that he'd found inside the death chamber, part of him sickened by the fact that Jazz had been put back together with mere human constructed electronics. But on the other hand, he was very intrigued how this had, in fact happened, because if the parts held, he might be able to use simple earth technology for repairs on the crew he had been dismissing due to inadequate supplies.

Pointing to the Marshal Head, Mikaela's eyes widened. "Isn't that one of those items that Sam's accused of stealing?" Mikaela asked. Her quick mind spotted the connections faster than the mechs.

"Why yes, I think it is," Ratchet agreed. He turned the Marshal Head over in his hand, looking at it with an expression of thoughtfulness. It always amazed him with how far the humans had developed technologically with such simple tools in a relatively short time.

"And they found his cell phone in that pawn shop," Optimus recalled, starting to see a connection forming.

Mikaela crossed her arms, "but he told me that he'd lost it earlier in the day. He bitched about it that very night!" And that very bitching had almost ruined the romantic mood that night.

"Hmmm, when you two snuck out with Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked, raising an eye ridge. He still found it quite fascinating how these humans just couldn't seem to resist this urge in the least. Perhaps when he was less pressed for time, he'd research and observe the human mating ritual himself … or just ask 'Bee.

She glared at him, not as shy as Sam was – concerning a little 'fun'. "Yep."

"So we've got a cell phone that appears to move around on its own; Equipment and tools appearing within a death chamber. And a mech that should be dead – who isn't," Optimus rubbed his chin in thought. Mumbling to himself as he tried to put the pieces together.

"Didn't Sam have that phone in his pocket when he stuffed the AllSpark into Megs?" Ironhide asked. The sun glinted off his chrome as he cocked his head in thought as he made that connection. His blue optics locked with Prime's at the mere connotations of this fact.

"Would that have anything to do with this Ratchet?" Prime looked over at the medic, hoping that the knowledgeable mech would have a thesis to stick all the clues together.

Ratchet shrugged, dashing Prime's hopes, "You never know. The AllSpark's power was beyond our understanding. Perhaps it put something in that phone, made it seek out a chassis."

"So your saying it's probably not Jazz," whispered Optimus in a slightly sad tone at the thought that his old companion had not risen from the dead, "and whatever it is could've done this with any of the off lined mechs?" He began to picture the forms of Megatron and the others, beginning to move in the depths of the ocean trench. A feeling of dread came over him at the mere thought of that occurrence.

"I'm not saying anything, because I simply don't know!" Ratchet stated with a huff of his engine. He truly despised it when he couldn't figure something out. Soon he'll start throwing wrenches if anyone tested him too much today.

The discussion suddenly died when they heard the sound of Bumblebee driving up, gravel cracking underneath his tires. Turning, they nodded for the yellow mech to join them. Apparently exhausted, he trudged up to them, his wings drooping.

"Guess that means you didn't catch him," Ironhide stated as he stared at the crestfallen little mech, understanding in his optics.

Bumblebee looked at the ground dejectedly and nodded. It killed her inside not to admit the truth, but then Frenzy would tell them. Then her 'friends' would no longer be her friends, but lovers, forcing themselves upon her. She fought the silent terror screaming up through her core. She just couldn't tell … she would never tell.

Optimus sighed and put his arm over his shoulder, squeezing it. "You weren't built to go as fast as Jazz, don't be so hard on yourself." He'd so hoped that Jazz would slow down when he saw his yellow friend behind him. But obviously, the silver mech hadn't wanted to talk. And if Jazz didn't want to be found – then there was little chance in finding him.

The yellow mech still kept his optics on his feet, apparently mad at himself that he hadn't caught the silver mech. The truth was hidden in the depths of her core. Oh, how that truth sickened her … making her wish that it was anything, but the truth.

"So, do you think it was Jazz?" Mikaela asked simply, hoping that the young mech could shed some light on the situation.

Bumblebee just shrugged, a feeling of shame rising, inher vocalizers as she spoke. "I never got close enough to see anything more than dust."

"Well, he drives like Jazz then," Ironhide chuckled a feeling of sadness at the thought of his departed friend. He heard the tone of Bumblebee's voice, but figured that the young mech was still in shock over the whole thing.

"Whatever he is, whether he's a new sparkling or a re-animated Jazz, we've got to locate him." Optimus nodded at the group of mechs. "So let's start searching." He just prayed that it was a disoriented Jazz. _Please, let it be Jazz!_

---

After leaving the useless yellow femme in her dust, Frenzy-Jazz decided she'd have to come up with some new strategies. Obviously, she'd have to stand on her own, and the Autobots weren't likely to be happy that a 'con that was in Jazz's old chassis. So they'd most likely try to capture her solely on that reason.

Granted, they didn't know she was a femme. So if she kept Jazz's voice, she could continue the male impersonation for a while if she had to. She had even infiltrated their ranks on enough occasions, that she figured she could 'play' a disoriented Jazz reasonably well – should the need arise.

But she needed to find out what they were thinking and planning, to do that, she needed to spy. Driving back towards town, Frenzy-Jazz scanned another sports car as it drove by. Now she was a silver Dodge Viper. Giggling hysterically, she wondered how long it would take the dumb males to realize 'Jazz' had shifted alt modes? But at least this Viper was as fast and as maneuverable as the Solstice had been. The bigger, bulkier male mech's would have little chance in catching her on an open road. And the one 'male' mech they had that could conceivably catch her – wasn't about to now. Frenzy spun her tires in glee as she shot down the empty road.

Snickering, she noticed Ironhide drive right by her! Taking a few turns, she casually fell in behind him, keeping a good half-mile between them. For the rest of the day she tracked him, until finally, he turned down the road heading back to the Autobots' warehouse base. She continued on past that road, knowing another way to get to a good observation spot.

Crawling up the hillside, she poked her head out over the top. Using the sensitive audio receptors on either side of her helm, she listened in on the conversation, trying not to giggle as the human word Peeping Tom came to mind.

---

"Find anything?" Optimus asked as Ironhide pulled up, silently watching the fading light reflected off the mech's alt form.

The old warrior snorted in disgust as he transformed, his armor casting and throwing light in varying directions as he did so. "Not a screw nor bolt of the sloggin' mech anywhere!"

Ratchet rubbed his chin in thought, his processor begging for even a slightest clue so it could start throwing out a thesis. "You know Prime, if this was a new sparkling caused by the AllSpark's destruction, then he'd be most likely be causing all sorts of chaos right now."

"You've got a point, a new sparkling in a mature chassis would not be sneaking around like this," Optimus agreed as he shifted his feet on the damp earth. He could visualize the chaos that a sparkling would've been causing by now. Yet, despite that fact and seeing sparkling mischief first hand, he was sadden by the fact that there may never be another one with its soft scrambling footsteps, prying little fingers, and soft clicking.

"So it's got to be Jazz!" Ironhide stated, crossing his arms over his chest plate in emphasis. His tone showed his happiness at the very idea.

"Jazz wouldn't be hiding from us like this. No matter how disoriented he might be," Prime disagreed. He really did hate to have to dash his men's hopes as soon as they would arise. But the feeling in his core all day, had just told him that this wasn't his old friend anymore, no matter how badly he wanted it to be him.

"But if it's not a new Sparkling, and it's not really Jazz, than just who the hell is it!" Ironhide demanded to know, his engine growing in emphasis.

Ratchet shrugged, "Your guess is as good as ours."

Bumblebee just stood there quietly, not saying a single word. She wanted to tell them, really she did, but she couldn't risk her freedom. She didn't want to be a breeder …She shivered with disgust at the mere thought of Ironhide's hands on her, or Prime's lips pressed against hers, or Ratchet…. She gulped, pushing down her fears. Frenzy had promised not to tell. Not to hurt her friends. She wanted all the males to herself, didn't she? And she seemed more than willing to breed so why did they need her anyway. Ugh, how could Frenzy want that anyway; here Bumblebee felt nauseated at the mere thought of breeding. She didn't want to be a china doll in a glass case. She just wanted to be a mech … really, was that too much for a femme to ask for?

-----

Frenzy-Jazz grinned, as she silently spied on the base. The Autobots really had no clue! And with this chassis's capabilities, she could indeed have some serious fun with their confusion. Yes, perhaps she'd just keep them guessing for a while, and then decide what she wanted to do.

---

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	6. Sowing Chaos

**Sowing Chaos**

Frenzy-Jazz tracked Optimus as the big mech patrolled the city, his shimmering flame paint made him very easily followed. During which time, her sharp mind calculated different angles of 'attack' from various buildings as he passed them. After all, one should always hold onto the high ground if they wished to be victorious. Isn't that what Rumble had always said?

.

She also calculated routes of fast escape, knowing that the big ground mech had little hope in catching her on the open road. It would be pretty funny to watch him try though. She envisioned him rolling over as he tried to take the turns at the speeds she was able to. His higher center of gravity; really reduced his maneuverability. Fortunately, she didn't have that problem, now did she?

Scanning their radio frequencies, Frenzy-Jazz waited until all the other Autobots were well outt've range to help. She didn't want any interference with her … little game.

-------

Cruising slowly down Main Street, Optimus again went over the events in his Meta. He didn't like unknowns, and this unknown entity that was in Jazz's chassis, was really causing him some internal stress. He knew the mech's abilities, and doubted they'd find him – unless he wanted to be found. Yet, for some reason, he didn't think the silver mech had gone far. He didn't know why, but he sensed deep inside – that Jazz was still very, very close by.

Lost in his thoughts, he stopped at the traffic light and scanned the passing cars for his friend. Yet, his scan never got past the minivan full of cos-players when, suddenly, mech feet landed on the top of his cab! Before he could react, he felt a wet sensation pouring across the top of his cab. Transforming, he twirled with his weapon ready. Just in time to watch the silver mech as he agilely leaped off Prime's transforming chassis, and made it to the top of the nearest building. Waving at the bigger mech, the silver one dashed off and disappeared over the other side.

Stepping over the cars around him, barely noting the kid in the Buick that cried, "it's Big O", Prime ran around the building. Making it there just in time to witness the silver mech leap off a red brick structure, transforming in mid-air, and burning rubber as he disappeared down the street. Knowing that he had no chance in catching the swift mech, Prime put his gun away with a growl of his engines. Scratching his head in bewilderment; it was then he realized that the wet sensation seemed to be spreading over his helm and shoulders.

Pulling his hand away from whatever was laying in wait on his shoulders, he looked at his fingers with amazement. The silver mech had coated him with yellow paint! His optics widened in disbelief, for not even the Decepticons had so easily pulled a stunt like this one on him. This 'Jazz' sure was a smart little slogger!

Prime huffed in disgust and tried to shake some of the paint off his fingers, only to make it dry faster. "Sure acts like Sideswipe," murmured the mech as he continued to look at his now yellow fingers. He was kind've glad that Sideswipe was still wandering the cosmos with his twin, for he sure couldn't handle TWO pranksters at once!

-----

Zooming away from Optimus, Frenzy-Jazz giggled uncontrollably as she engaged her radio jamming equipment. Heading towards her next 'target' she kept picturing the look on Prime's face as he realized he'd been 'vandalized'. The warmth of a prank well done filled her core. She sure wished that Rumble could've seen this one. To pull such a stunt on the most powerful mech in the Galaxy, was, well – a heck of a testament to the superior intelligence of a femme!

_Ah, the joy of a little chaos! _She thought to herself in glee. And she just couldn't wait to add to the chaos!

Up in the hills, she looked down and spotted her next victim. Snickering, she knew this one would be even more entertaining than the first! Jumping agilely from one road to the next, she ended up coming towards Ironhide, on the very same road.

-----

Ironhide noticed that his radio was having some interference issues, but since these hills tended to do that – he wasn't overly concerned. Heck, he was hunting Jazz wasn't he? And the Weapon's Specialist had little doubt that the light mech would avoid him at all costs anyway. He knew that with just one well-aimed punch, he'd have the silver mech flat on his back. Then Ratchet could figure out just what in the devil was glitched up in Jazz's logic circuits.

Scanning the passing cars, Ironhide's sensors passed right over the silver Dodge Viper without even stopping. For he was scanning for a Pontiac Solstice, not a Viper – so why even bother to notice it? It was probably due to that line of thinking that, as the Viper came towards him, he didn't notice immediately - that it had transformed. In surprise, Ironhide veered sharply. The high velocity swerve caused him to flip, his two left tires suddenly tasting nothing but air! With a scream of shifting metal, he transformed even as he flipped out of control; trying desperately to get a bead on the silver mech who was now leaping over him.

Suddenly, the whole world went yellow! Ironhide cussed as his aft hit the ground hard, mounds of dirt getting stuck between his hip joints; with one final curse, the Weapon Specialist realized that his optics were coated in some viscous yellow liquid. Wiping them with his fingers, he cleared his vision just in time to see the silver mech wave at him cheerily. Then the agile mech jumped off the side off the road; Landing oh-so-lightly on his feet, two hundred feet below.

Transforming, the Dodge Viper burned rubber outt've sight. The smell of burned rubber, was soon the only thing that remained for Ironhide to cuss at.

"Why that little freagin' punk!" Ironhide grumbled as he looked down at his fingers, which were coated in yellow paint. Touching his helm, he realized that his entire head was now coated yellow. "You sloggin' vandal, when I get my hands on you I'll –"

- his final words were lost to the disappearing mech, as she tore around the next hill. Frenzy-Jazz merely laughed hard for the next hour.

-----

"So he got you too I see," Optimus stated as Ironhide came up to the warehouse, dust followed after the two as they came to a halt on the gravel.

"Why that little freagin' sloggin' piece of slag! I'm going to re-arrange his entire chassis when I get a hold of him!" Ironhide grumbled as he transformed, puffing out his chest in order to keep a little bit of his pride. He might have been yellow, but he was no coward. Unlike that little hit-and-run punk who'd done this to them! Oh, he'd pay. Yes, he'd pay.

Due to the ruckus of the squabbling mech, one lone human stumbled out of the Autobots base from his nap, squinting as the sunlight assaulted him. For a moment, Sam looked from one yellow-headed mech to the other, thinking it was dream. He tried desperately not to laugh when he realized that dreams were not this funny. The two hardened warriors did look – hysterical! The bright yellow paint on their heads and shoulders; looked even brighter in contrast to the rest of their body colors. All they needed now were some feathers and this moment would be perfect.

"The little bastard is worse than Sideswipe!" Ironhide grumbled. And Sideswipe had pulled some serious pranks back on Cybertron! But he'd never gone after the two highest ranking Autobots on the same day. He knew better and loved his body parts too much to even attempt such a feet.

"And quicker too," Optimus agreed while his processor started to compare the two mechs, silently wondering if Sideswipe was Jazz in disguise. The idea was quickly terminated; he didn't want to end up paranoid like Red Alert. He just hoped that they could catch the slogger soon, and have Ratchet fix the glitch in the silver mech's meta!

"Did you hear him howling in laughter as he drove away?! The nerve! I'm going to so blow him a new one when I see him next time!" the yellow-topped black mech stomped by Prime and stormed into the warehouse. Thinking about how good it would feel to turn that piece of slag into yet another alt mode.

Following him inside, making sure to duck in order to not hit his helm on the low doorway, Prime put his hand on the Weapon Specialist's shoulder. "You are not to fire unless fired upon," he ordered.

"What the pit? You expect me to just let the sack of bolts get away with this!" Ironhide quickly bit his glossa as Prime's glare penetrated him; it was unwise to snap at ones' commander, "I mean … why not?" he quickly rephrased his statement into a question; Though the tone of his voice showed his true feelings on the whole situation.

"He didn't use weapons, and he more than had the opportunity," Prime explained, glad that he didn't have to punish the mech for being insubordinate; But completely understanding Ironhide's feelings about the vandal.

Spraying some solvent on his head, Ironhide grumbled as he tried to get the paint off of his black finish. "Guess you got a point, so are we shooting paint balls now? Pretty damned pathetic if ya ask me!" Of all things – paintballs!? Crap, he sure hoped no one back on Cybertron would ever see him loading his mighty cannons with – paintballs! Unless it was Sunstreaker witnessing it … the vain mech would probably have a panic attack if Ironhide even aimed in his vicinity.

Soon, the sound of heavy feet filled the area, and a green mech entered the scene. The medic stared for a moment, his logic center rushing for an answer. In the end, he decided that he didn't want to freeze up, so asking would be much easier. "What happened to you two?"

Seeing the medic and Bumblebee walk in, Optimus nodded his greetings, thanking Primus that mechs couldn't blush.

"We've apparently run-across our missing friend," he explained. Grabbing the solvent from Ironhide, he sprayed some on his own helm.

"Looks more like he was waiting for you," Ratchet noted. "Did he get you both at once?" His optic ridges were raised in curiosity that the silver mech would even have the audacity to vandalize these particular mechs. Much less, be so efficient at it.

"No, we were at least ten miles away from each other," grumbled Ironhide in an impatient tone. He was way too old for this … way too old.

"Hmmmm, I thought our radios were purposefully jammed for five minutes. This is a smart little devil!" Ratchet motioned for the two vandalized mechs to sit down. He and Bumblebee then started to get the paint off of them. "What model is he?" He knew the mech couldn't still be in a Solstice alt mode – these two experienced soldiers would've spotted him miles away.

Ironhide's optic ridges went up, "Damned, I didn't really think about it 'till now. The rust bucket was a silver Dodge Viper." He didn't want to think about the connotations of the silver mech's switch of alt modes. That meant the little bastard was TRYING to catch them unaware! Just how long had the freager been tracking them?

Ratchet nodded, his expression thoughtful. "So now we've got a mech who's clearly capable of utilizing every move in Jazz's repertoire, knows enough to scan a new alt mode, as well as smart enough to ambush our two most experienced mechs. Well, this promises to be unpleasant." At least the mech didn't seem aggressive, but then why was he obviously hanging around them?

"He also seems highly creative in his choice of 'weapons'," Optimus added. Now, to a human, creativity was a minor obstacle, given that everyone had some imagination. But, since most mechs relied heavily on their logic centers, the little silver pain in the aft was going to be a hard one to outsmart.

Ironhide snorted, "And laughs hysterically at his own pranks, little piss-ant!" This grated on him even more than the prank had. Even Sideswipe didn't laugh in a mech's face like that … he at least turned the corner first to have the Ark walls for protection.

The medic frowned at this information. Well, he kind of already knew it, but it would have been nice if it really was Jazz, "Well, this is definitely not Jazz, nor a brand new sparkling. I think we're dealing with a con spark in Jazz's chassis." Ratchet stated.

Prime nodded his agreement, "So perhaps the AllSpark took one of their fleeing sparks and put it in that cell phone when it blew?"

"Perhaps, but this M.O. doesn't sound like any of the cons that died in Mission City," the medic said as he shrugged his shoulders, "His nature has been far too docile." He envisioned what it would be like with Bonecrusher, Brawl or Megatron in that chassis. No, if it'd been any of those, they'd have snuck in the warehouse and planted explosives – for their 'prank'.

"I know who it freagin' sounds like – that manic freak Frenzy!" Ironhide's optics glimmered in anger at the very thought. He had promised that he'd one day step on the little freak … oh well, holes would look much better on him anyway, than having to have to scrape the little slagger off the bottom of his foot.

"Hmmm, sure does. But Frenzy off lined at Hoover Dam. So just how did his spark end up all the way in the City?" Optimus wondered aloud. He felt unease fill his core, for that damned hacker had penetrated Autobot headquarters and bases on numerous occasions. Unlike most cons, those little hackers seemed to have the uncanny knack for getting their missions done. And as small as they were, it had always amazed him how much damage and chaos that they could create. And now one of the smart little bastards; had an even better chassis for infiltration and sabotage!

No one had any ideas on that one, so a universal shrug ran through the ranks.

"Well, if it's Frenzy – I'm going to so off-line his aft again!" Ironhide stated, pulling out his guns to make the point that more obvious. The sound of his main cannons powering up, added even more emphasis to his future plans for the hacker.

'Bee watched the exchange among the older mech's as she peeled off the last off the yellow paint off Ironhide's head. Now, personally, the young femme still didn't know what to think of the other femme. It was fairly obvious that their personalities clashed, but still, she was a femme. Probably the only femme she'd ever see again. Now, 'Bee was young when she had been stuck in the ranks of the Autobots as a mech, so she didn't know much of the femme's ways, but she was certain of one thing at least. Femmes looked out for each other, no matter their faction. That was rule number two, right after self preservation.

"But he didn't shoot at you did he?" Bumblebee quietly asked, still a little afraid to speak. If they found Frenzy, did that mean she would be found out as well? True, the femme had promised to never tell, and she also seemed to want the males all to herself in that regard. So perhaps she wouldn't have to worry. Yet, that brought another question to mind. Why was the Decepticon femme vandalizing them? She supposedly wanted them for breeding, didn't she? Bee just didn't understand her. Perhaps it was the difference in Autobot and Decepticon base programming. The hacker was smart enough to know what she was doing – wasn't she? Or was this one of those 'crush' pranks that human children pulled on each other?

Optimus looked quizzically at the youngster. He'd been unnaturally quiet ever since Jazz had seemingly come back to life. But Bumblebee was busily scrapping paint off the top of Ironhide's helm and wouldn't meet his optics, so he was unable to conclude any emotions from the youngster. Perhaps the youngling was still in shock that it wasn't Jazz, for he had seemed to idolize the silver mech. "You've got a very good point Bumblebee," he told him.

"Since we don't know what his intentions are, unless he fires at you, no one is to fire at him. Does each of you understand me?" Optimus asked, trying not to flinch as Ratchet started to peel off some paint, which was stuck in between a seam in his helm.

Grudgingly, Ironhide nodded his agreement. "Can I fire at him, if I fill one of my cannons with paintballs?" he asked hopefully. It still irked him to fire paint balls, but he'd get some satisfaction seeing the silver mech in a different color. Gray was so last year anyway.

Optimus met his optics, knowing it was tearing Ironhide apart to agree to not shoot at a possible con. "Ok, but only paint balls." Perhaps it'd be good if he loaded a few as well?

"Hey, Sam, you wanna go with me to get five thousand rounds of red?" Ironhide asked. Yes, red would look REAL good against that silver background.

A grin that could rival that of the Joker's planted itself readily on the teenager's face. Destruction with paint balls … well, that seemed like fun. "Hell yah!" murmured the teenager. "Think I could carry a paint ball gun too?" he asked hopefully. He knew his dad wouldn't mind a paint ball gun, and it'd sure feel good to shoot at Frenzy. After all the little hacker had done to him!

Shooting Prime one of his 'looks', Ironhide quickly transformed and threw open one of his doors. The human didn't waist a moment's time before he jumped into the front seat, the door slamming behind him. Then, without even a second thought, the truck was off, throwing up a cloud of dust in his wake.

Ratchet sighed at this and motioned for 'Bee to take over his work on Prime's head as he went to search the cabinets for a small tool to get in between the seams. So, with that Bumblebee quietly started working on Prime's helm, wondering just what in the hell kind of game was Frenzy playing? Or were all 'Con femmes crazy? She wouldn't be surprised, given that the femme had managed to survive and apparently thrive in the wolfs' den.


	7. Abduction

**Abduction**

Frenzy-Jazz found herself still snickering about her fun, late into the night. Back in her observation position above the Autobots' warehouse, she grinned as her sharp audios picked up their every word. _So Ironhide's now stuck shooting paintballs at me? How fun!! _She thought, snickering at the mental picture. She wondered what she would look like 'in red'; since that's the color he'd gone to purchase. Granted, she doubted he was fast enough to peg her much. But the exchange could be quite entertaining…

She wished she had known that it was truly so fun to play pranks on Autobots, for back in the con ranks, you never dared! Instead, she was forced to try and keep herself calm all the time. And that type of internal stress had always caused her to be a little manic when she had the chance for some release, which was generally only in battle. Yes, she'd truly earned her nickname – hadn't she? A manic grin spread over her face as she recalled all those times that she and Rumble had easily infiltrated Autobot bases. The thrill of beating the bigger males in strategy! Yes, Megatron had just thought they were terrified of failing, he hadn't realized that the Decepticon femmes were merely learning how to get what they wanted from male-controlled facilities. Getting the education they would need to eventually control the males. They had thrilled at the challenge of breaking into those networks, of sabotaging those installations; for they were getting a little 'revenge' on the dominant sex.

Yes, she had truly been made as a prankster through-and-through, and now that the war seemed to be over, she could finally show her true colors. She snickered – _in more ways than one! _She tried to picture the expression on the first Autobot she bred. Would he be afraid? Would he be thrilled? Would she do it through force – or perhaps through manipulation? Ah, so many choices to be had. And the Hackers as a whole; were the only mechs that had developed creativity. So if she gave the idea even more thought, she was sure that she could come up with an even better idea.

But, she did have to decide on how to go about showing those 'true colors' without being raped for it. A devious idea began to form in her Meta. The male mechs had always taken advantage of the weaker femmes, so why not turn the tables on them? Ah, yes. The sloggers were continually capturing males from opposing sides and force bonding them to deactivation, weren't they? It'd been pretty entertaining to watch Starscream do this on occasion. The screams from his male victims were almost music to the disguised femmes' audios within their ranks. For it meant that another male had understood the torture it was to be a femme. Granted, the victim was generally off lined afterward – but for a brief moment, he had understood.

Well, she probably wouldn't off line her 'victim'. But it would sure feel good to dominate one of the freagin' males for once. Give them a taste of submission. Make them respect the intelligence of a femme. And afterward, she'd give them their reward. Force them to raise the vicious sparklings which resulted. They'd be begging for it wouldn't they? And Autobots were such suckers for sparklings, they'd probably let her play any type of creative bonding game that she wanted to – as long as they produced those hell spawn.

Grinning to herself, she pictured some creative things she'd like to do with Optimus. Granted, she knew that she'd never be able to force bond him.. But with a little manipulation of his psych, she could probably get him to let her dominate his aft for a while.. Frenzy started snickering so hard at the mere thought of dominating him. The spasm of laughter became so hard that she fell over and writhed on the ground for a while.. It was almost as funny as the thought of doing the same to Megatron. Too bad he was off lined, it would've be entertaining to say the least..

_Yes, that was a damned good idea__ to kidnap a male and dominate his aft for a while__! But how, and who?_ If Bumblebee were actually a male, it'd be a no-brainer. But since he wasn't; Frenzy considered the other three mechs. Ironhide and Optimus were both way too powerful for her to even consider at this stage of the game – but perhaps Ratchet?

Her blue optics glimmered. _Yes, the green one. Easier to hide __his chassis__ … plus, he is __the smartest amongst them! Regardless of how he found out, he'd understand the true value of a femme. _And he would be the type to fully believe her, if she claimed that she would commit suicide over letting the other Autobots to capture her. Yes, he'd most likely try anything to prevent a femme from self-destruction. So if she convinced him she had placed detonators near her own core – he'd be desperate enough to do anything she asked. Her engine purred as she considered it. Yes, the medic would be very, very easy to manipulate. Rubbing her fingers together she could almost feel his smooth green plating under her fingertips. Digging her metal foot into the soft soil beneath her, Frenzy could almost taste the medic's spark. It was such a sweet taste on her glossa.

Yes, Ratchet was the perfect target!

-----

The sun was reaching its zenith as Ratchet patrolled the East quadrant of the city. He was wary, but not highly concerned. After what the silver mech had done the previous day, he had a hunch that the worst that could happen to him – was some embarrassment, but not life threatening. He could live with a new paint job; his current one was full of scratches and dings from constant off roading. Not to mention those sparring matches with Ironhide to keep the black freager from catching cabin fever.

With an internal shrug, Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle a little about the Weapon's Specialist. All that big talk and big guns were just there to hide the mech's true insecurities. They both knew that Ratchet's faster speed and mind, made the medic more than Ironhide's equal in battle. Granted their last 'sparring match' had ended quite enjoyably indeed. Ironhide did seem to know a thing or two about bonding play it seemed. Some of his ideas had really caught Ratchet by surprise. But it had been a highly enjoyable, um, transfer of knowledge.. shall we say?

Yet, despite the possibility of having to strip down his current paint and begging 'Bee to refinish his back, this silver mech made him very curious indeed; for if it was indeed Frenzy's spark – he was just fascinated by how in the hell that spark had gotten into Jazz. And if he had managed to do it … did that mean that all mech's could? It would be a godsend to the medic. He'd never have to feel the life drain form a mech beneath his fingers as his body shut down. There would never be another Jazz. He just had to understand this spark's method of survival!

Approaching one of the valley's power stations, Ratchet turned and started under the high voltage power lines. The electric hum above him was just another part of the alien landscape. Not really even worth the energy use in noticing.

"He, he, hey Ratchet? What's up?!" Jazz's voice called outt've nowhere like a voice from the past.

Surprised, Ratchet began to transform, preparing himself to get hit in the face by paint. Yet the wet sticky feeling never came and the medic clicked back open his optic coverings.

Suddenly, the view of a mech swinging towards him filled his optics. Before he could react, Jazz flew by him like a metal-skinned Tarzan from hell! Letting go of the cut power line he'd done his swing with. The live wire hit Ratchet, whose metal feet were now touching the ground. Finding a way to the ground - one hundred thousand volts shot through the shocked medic. In the blink of an optic, Ratchet was blown over a hundred and fifty feet through the air. Even before he hit the ground, in total overload from the bolt, he shut down.

… His last thoughts trying to decide if he hated or loved power lines.

----

Frenzy-Jazz chuckled, as she walked back up to the prone medic who still had small jolts of electricity jumping around his form. She considered him for a second, enjoying the interplay of the stray electricity dancing lightly over his chassis. It was actually a very nice look for the Autobot she decided. Perhaps she could come up with a way to incorporate this electricity idea in future mating play? Cocking her head comically, she decided that she'd have to research that idea a little further.

Kicking the green mech over onto his face, she knelt with a knee in the middle of his back. Grabbing his arms, she swiftly secured them behind him and began to drag the unconscious medic towards a parked Tractor Trailer. "Hell of a shock 'ol boy!" she snickered to the unconscious mech, giggling at her own joke as she looked over him, noting sensitive looking wiring and seams. It would be interesting to see his reaction when she ran her fingers over them. Would he scream – or gasp in pleasure? She imagined the fun of placing a bet with Swindle on the outcome. Wonder what odds he'd place on it? Sigh, she did miss a few of the cons. There had been some fun living amongst them..

Opening the rear of the box trailer, she grabbed his feet and slowly dragged him inside, her engine growled from the added strain. Once he was far enough inside, she stepped on his chest as she leaned over him and slid the door closed. As she moved back over him, she just couldn't resist. She stopped and slipped some of her strange fingers under his codpiece, fingering his hidden transfer mechanism for a second. "You'll be begging me to do this soon, Autobot," she snickered as she looked at his deactivated optics. Still chuckling to herself, she stood back up and walked hunched over to the front of the trailer and sat down.

"Time to roll out boys!" she snickered. Grapping a cable that came up through a hole in the trailer floor, she turned on her radar as she hooked the direct link to the Semi cab. Starting, the driverless semi pulled out and went onto the main highway leading away from town.

-----

As they drove down the interstate, Optimus Prime passed the semi rig while on his patrol. Never even realizing that the mech he was searching for, and the medic he didn't realize was missing, had just passed within three feet of him.

But Frenzy saw him. She knew exactly who he was as her radar scanned over his chassis. She shrieked in hysterical laughter as she watched him disappear from her internal radar screen. "Ah, Optimus, we shall meet again big boy," she snickered as she continued to drive away from town.

---

One-by-one, the alarms went off in his head. Before he even activated his optics, he realized that he was tied up, the restraints cutting into the wiring near his wrists.

"He, he, wondered if you'd ever reboot," Jazz's voice chuckled. The voice was his, but the inflection and laughter were not. Truly a strange and unsettling combination of audio input, thought the medic.

Activating his optics, Ratchet scanned his surroundings. They were obviously inside a box trailer, and from the vibrations he could tell that they were moving. His arms were bound tightly behind his back. Groaning a little, Ratchet shifted his position. He felt like he'd been hit by a ton of bricks! All of his motor networks screamed in denial of his movement commands. Everything was still in shock by the massive electrical bolt.

Jazz sat in the front of the trailer, watching him with a rather smug look on his face. Ratchet noticed the cable going from Jazz's main sensory grid, through a hole in the front of the trailer.

"So you are using your radar while you drive this semi?" he stated more than asked. This was a tactic he'd only seen one group of Transformers ever utilize – the hackers. They were the only ones small enough to get inside other equipment or Transformers for that matter. And if they hooked into a mech's main grid, they could easily take down his firewalls and gain control of his motor networks. Ratchet had seen this 'talent' first hand, on more occasions than he'd care to remember. This only re-enforced the fact that this must be Frenzy's spark he was now dealing with.

A big slag-eatin' grin spread on Jazz's face. "Very impressed with your skills of observation," he chuckled. She and the other femme hackers had often wondered why the bigger males had never developed this particular talent, for it was most useful. Granted, that just showed how inferior the males were. If they couldn't simply overpower something with strength or firepower – they had no clue as to what to do it seemed. Femmes had moved way beyond that limited logic path eons ago…

Trying to engage his SOS and homing device, Ratchet quickly figured out that they'd been disconnected while he'd been knocked out. Glancing back up at the silver mech, he was now even more curious than ever about him. Obviously, this 'Jazz' had no interest in off-lining Autobots for some reason. If he had, Ratchet wouldn't have reactivated. Cocking his head in interest, Ratchet figured he try some small talk. See if he could figure out what this mech wanted. "So, you got me with a live wire I assume?"

"Sure was funny to watch," Frenzy-Jazz snickered, and even had the nerve to wink at the larger mech, trying to not laugh hysterically at the disgusted look that covered the medic's face. Boy, it was so fun to have a male in the position of submission! She could even hear Rumble snickering in agreement from the afterlife.

"You sure do like to take a lot of unnecessary risks around bigger mechs. Don't you realize the war is over, Frenzy?" Ratchet raised one of his optic ridges in curiosity. Would the mech be surprised that they'd deducted who his spark was? The medic was highly curious as to what his reaction would be.

"Finally figured it out, huh?" Frenzy-Jazz didn't seem bothered in the least. In fact, to Ratchet, the little slagger seemed happy. This was highly disconcerting to the medic, for it made no logical sense. Since the Autobots knew he was a con-spark, did he not realize they'd do their best to hunt him down and off-line him again?

"Hmmm, your skill and pranks yesterday made it very easy to deduce. But just how did you get inside Jazz?" Ratchet struggled to sit up, and leaned against the trailer's side, noting how the trailer bed seemed to shake. If push came to shove, he could always use his superior weight to overbalance the trailer and cause it to tip. It wasn't an option he liked, but it needed to be considered.

"Ah, that's for me to know, and you not to!" Frenzy-Jazz snickered. Her optics blatantly roved over Ratchet's chassis. They stopped on his aft since he was sitting on his side. A part of her giggled, as she considered if she dare grab and handful of that stuff here and now.

"So are you trying to join us, or going to fight us? After all, Megatron's dead." Inquired Ratchet, trying to ignore the way those optics had stopped on his aft. He felt dread fill his core, for he did not in any way like the expression on Frenzy-Jazz's face.

"He, he, do you think we all just blindly followed?" the silver mech cocked her head, as she studied the medic, her optics scanning for another juicy piece of metal that she wanted to grab. Hmmm, he probably has some sensory arrays tucked underneath that shoulder armor of his…

"From all appearances – yes – that'd be an accurate assessment," Ratchet answered, still trying to ignore the look the other was giving him. The last thing he wanted to think about; was having a Decepticon that was smaller than him – force bond with him. Not that he was all that prideful by any means, but he knew 'ol Ironhide would never let him live it down.

"You males are all the same. Just see things narrowly and never see the big picture," Frenzy-Jazz grinned as she spoke, seeing if the intelligent medic would pick up the meaning of her phrasing. Half of her wishing he would catch on quickly, because the faster he caught on, the faster she could have her fun. She'd always kind've wondered what full copulation felt like, and having the bigger male tied up and in her total control – made a wave of stimulation roll through her, just thinking about it.

Ratchet studied Frenzy, catching the implication of that statement oh-so clearly. If this was a femme spark within Jazz, then their species could be saved! His temperature rose, as he fought to keep the excitement from showing as well as the rapid pulsing of his spark. "So you are insinuating that you are a femme spark?"

Frenzy could see the rise in Ratchet's temperature; she had been right in his excitement. "So are you surprised?" she asked. Her infrared sensors enjoyed the way his temperature rise was spreading through his chassis. His metal skin almost seemed to dance as the changing heat intensities caused it to vary wildly within the spectrum.

He could barely keep his emotions from showing, he was more than surprised – he was elated! But this was Frenzy he was talking to, and he had to be careful. "We'd always suspected that some of you hid, we just didn't know where. Are there others?" he couldn't keep the hopefulness from his voice anymore. Regardless of if it was a con femme or a bot femme, a femme was a femme, and they were more valuable than life itself!

Frenzy shrugged, as she allowed her chassis to lean against the front of the trailer so that the mech in front of her could scan her entire silver frame easily. She had really enjoyed watching the green male's face as he had gone from a look of dread at the mere thought of being raped by a 'male' con in Jazz's chassis – to the look of sheer elation at the thought of being possibly 'used' by a femme con in Jazz's chassis. Boy, were these males so easily manipulated! "Don't know, since we hid in small groups with no knowledge of the others."

"Any other's in your group?" he asked, the excitement filling his voice. They needed femmes, and the more the better, but at the moment, he'd take what he could get. Even if it had to be the hyper freak Frenzy! At least being a hacker, she had some intelligence…

She shook her head, at tint of sadness gleaming in her optics momentarily as she remembered the horrifying day that Starscream had torn Rumble in half. "My sisters are all off lined."

His shoulders drooped, for Frenzy could very well be the last. But at least she was still functioning! Ratchet needed to know if she had been hanging around because they were males. His spark surged at the very notion that she might even be interested in mating with any of them. Then there'd be sparklings again. His audios could almost hear the metallic clicking of little feet dancing around… Bringing himself back into reality, he had to consider this logically. Perhaps, she could be convinced to join their ranks? "Since you've done nothing, but practical jokes as of late, I must wonder what your continued interest in us might be?"

Frenzy turned her optics from him, as she focused on her radar and link with the semi cab. The truck slowed, then turned, then backed and stopped. Nonchalantly, she pulled her connection line from her port and closed her panel, allowing the medic a quick glance on her innards.

"Possible negotiations," she stated simply. The mere notion of forcing the Autobots to 'negotiate' with her, sent chills of anticipation through her systems. She finally had power as a femme! This is what the femmes had died for, had torn themselves apart and suffered through eons of torturous hiding as young males. She wished Rumble could see this. Rumble would've been so proud to force these males to their knees….

He studied her, and saw her deadly seriousness. He found in strange that Frenzy could even put on a serious expression. But if she'd been able to survive right under Megatron's olfactory sensors for eons – then nothing she was capable of should surprise him. "What is there to negotiate, if you come back to the Autobots with me, we will protect you." The smart hacker should already know this, for she was now as valuable as the AllSpark itself. The Autobots would die to protect her. Without her, there was no future for them.

She chuckled in a dry, un-humored way, "You will protect me from the cons, but not your own mechs." She locked optics with him, boring into him with the intensity of her stare. She knew they'd try to force themselves on her, just as the cons would. This is exactly why that pathetic yellow femme was terrified to come out of hiding. But unlike Bumblebee, Frenzy was willing to take chances, for she'd already devised a way to keep that from ever happening – without truly committing suicide. The cell phone was hidden in her armor by her foot. But the males would never know this, never even guess. This was her power, her control. And she would control THEM!

She did have a point, Ratchet knew that many males would have a hard time not forcing themselves on a femme; but considering the desperate state of their species – who could blame them? "But you will be expected to breed," he said. His voice showing his seriousness, for her very value lay in that one ability. If she wouldn't breed, she had no greater value than the male mechs.

She chuckled, "Produce offspring, yes. Breed myself to death, no." She shifted her position slightly, curling her legs under her. Her entire demeanor reflected her decisiveness on that issue. She had already prepared herself to always carry twins – whether fraternal or identical, she didn't really care. Thus, she'd only need to get pregnant half as many times. Taking the risk of those dangerous deliveries less often; but the very action of supporting the growth of two at a time – would drain her spark much more. She and Rumble had once calculated it together, and she knew that she could safely reproduce every third cycle without destroying her spark's integrity. And no mere male was going to force her to do otherwise – period.

A very smart femme indeed; she knew how to negotiate. Ratchet was finding himself rather impressed with the hacker's quick mind. Granted, to be a hacker, a mech had to be very intelligent. He couldn't deduct if this was a good situation for the femme most definitely understood her value. Being a Decepticon, she'd most likely consider her own survival to be of more importance than the species. Then again, without her, there was no future for the species. It was a catch twenty-two. Studying the femme intently, Ratchet agreed to a point, "That's a very true statement, though most males would encourage you to have as many offspring as your cycles would allow."

Nodding, she agreed with him. "This is why I've put charges next to my core," her voice lowered in tone to a sickening murmur, "I'd rather die, than be forced. Do you understand?" Granted, they'd just think she was off lined when her spark vacated this chassis and scampered off in the diminutive cell phone. But she'd never reveal that particular 'femme talent'.

He studied her face, fully understanding how a Decepticon femme might view things, considering how the cons had tortured their femmes to death. A shudder ran through him as he recalled those stories of mass femme suicide amongst the con ranks. The Autobots hadn't truly believed it, until they'd accidentally come across a mass dumpsite of their empty chassis'. Ratchet had been one of the young investigators on that scene, and the mere remembrance of it, caused the same sickening feeling to wash over him. So he understood without a doubt that this femme definitely had the capacity to do as she threatened. "You said you wanted to negotiate. So what are your terms?"

She grinned at him and said one word, "You."

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	8. For the Future

**For the Future**

Stepping over him, Frenzy-Jazz opened the rear door, allowing the moonlight to drown the innards of the trailer. Then, with a wary scan of her surroundings, the femme hopped down lightly, and turned to help Ratchet out of the trailer. Once the hefty mech had managed to get out, she closed the door with a satisfied clang.

"Follow me," she ordered and began walking into the night, shrubs crunching underfoot. Her silver chassis seemed to almost glide over the ground, her hydraulics so finely tuned and balanced. The moonlit glinted off her chrome, causing dancing reflections in the darkness.

Ratchet looked around; trying to get his bearings in the darkness, but Frenzy had even disconnected his internal compass. Still amazed at the femme's intelligence, he stumbled off after her, trying to ignore the rising of his spark within him. He couldn't help but admire her chassis' balance and agility, for the silver mech didn't stumble even once as she glided over the rough surface with each stride. She set down each foot with confidence, not even seeming to notice the difficulty of the terrain.

They soon reached a very rocky and uneven area making Ratchet go off balance and fall several times, trying to not grumble about getting dirt in his joints. But then he stumbled so badly, that his faceplate smacked into some of the loose rock as he fell. Staggering back to his knees, he swayed unsteadily. "You know, traversing this terrain would be much easier if I could use my arms for balance," he mentioned to Frenzy.

She studied him, even as she helped his aft up again. She hadn't realized just how clumsy these bigger mechs really were. Hell, even Bumblebee wouldn't have an issue traversing this terrain. Refraining from an outward snort, she just put the difference off on the fact that the femmes were just that much more advanced than these males.

Looking up at her as she put a hand under his arm, Ratchet knew he couldn't keep going like this. He didn't have the high performance chips that she had. Without his hands, he'd have worse stumbles than this one. So he had to convince her to trust him enough to untie him. "I swear as an Autobot, to do everything you tell me too. I will not try to escape, Frenzy." Ratchet shrugged, "There's no reason for me to; because we both know you're now as valuable as the AllSpark to us."

Frenzy grinned; she'd been very right about this medic! Sliding around him, she freed his hands, and nodded for him to continue to follow her. She kept her sensors on though; paranoia still lingered in the depths of her cranial unit. Even though she truly felt the mech did believe her threat, until she truly got the oath from him that she wanted – she didn't trust him any further than she could throw him; which wasn't half as far as she'd been able to drag him – granted dragging his big green aft had really stressed her hydraulics! Damned big ass mechs!

Climbing over another rocky ridge, Ratchet spotted their likely destination. For out in the middle of the scrubland were a collection of abandoned hangars, rusting and falling away to nature's vengeance. "A very good location for staying out of sight," he commented. And as hard as it had been for him to get here, he knew Prime and Ironhide would have an even more difficult time.

She looked back at him and nodded. She had chosen this location because you could only see it from the sky, and reaching it from the ground was extremely hard indeed if one didn't take the right path. Heck, the only reason she had known about it, was when Starscream had flown over it, with her aboard. She didn't even think that the con Air Commander had even noticed it.

Walking into the complex, the two mechs went inside the sturdiest looking of the structures, a scraping noise filling their audios as the metallic plating was shaken by the wind. Some flakes of rust drifted down, shaken loose by the slight vibrations that their steps had caused.

Ratchet sat down and made himself as comfortable as he could against one of the sturdier looking walls. "So, you said that your terms were me. What did you mean by this?" He had considered this statement all the way here, and his logic circuits still hadn't made any heads or tails about it.

Frenzy-Jazz sat down in front of him, with her legs curled underneath her. Her standard grin was now back on her face. "Exactly what I said." She was thoroughly enjoying the confusion that this apparently illogical statement was causing the medic. Yet another example of the male's serious lack of imagination, she couldn't help but chuckle.

It was a little disconcerting to be looking at his old friend Jazz, listening to Jazz's voice, and realize the whole time that one was actually talking to Frenzy. Much less think of her, and Jazz's chassis, as a femme. But Ratchet had dealt with far stranger things in his long life, and knew he'd get used to this. "'You' is too generalized of a concept. Narrow it down a little more." He knew the hacker was playing a mind game with him, and it just irked him to no end that she had a talent he didn't. She had creativity. A talent that the males did not and this made her highly confusing for a male to fully understand. And she sure seemed to get a thrill outt've this processing difference - Which made it even more perturbing to the medic.

The femme chuckled, running one of her fingers in a circular motion in the dust at her feet. Yes, life always ran in circles it seemed. The connections so clear to her imaginative mind; the males needed to reproduce, to dominate – yet now the circle was completed and the femmes would now dominate. "I want your oath that you shall keep me from ever being forced. Your protection for my safety and that of my sparklings. Your support of what I decide to do."

Ratchet raised one of his optic ridges. Did this mean she wanted HIM as a sole bond mate? This was the only idea that seemed to fit with her statements, he could find no other logical conclusion.. "Hmmm, are you asking me to take you as bond mate?" He wasn't quite sure he wanted to, but if that was the only way … species preservation would override his personal preferences.

Frenzy actually shrieked with laughter at that idea. This male really didn't have a clue to what she wanted – did he? "Sloggers you Autobots are quick with offering relationships!" She enjoyed his quick look of embarrassment as she laughed in his face over his misinterpretation.

Narrowing his blue optics, Ratchet realized that he must've taken it the wrong way. It was really going to be hard to understand this creative femme. He wished he was old enough to have remembered femmes as a mature mech, for he didn't know if this was a normal state of being for them.

"No, I want your oath as my guardian, Ratchet. For you understand just how valuable I am, and you will be able to keep your mechs from even considering abuse." Frenzy locked her blue optics onto his, and he understood what would happen if he failed to protect her. The last chance for their species to survive – would commit suicide. And her spilt energon would be solely on his hands.

He nodded his agreement to her terms. It wasn't like he had much choice in the matter.

But as a medic, he knew part of his job being her Guardian, was to also make sure she was structurally sound for reproduction, and that her vital internal systems would be protected from the violence of newly sparked transformers. He'd be there for all of her births, so he wanted to make sure she had retrofitted this male chassis properly. He also wanted to make sure that Frenzy wasn't playing cross dresser as some rather cruel joke. A part of him wouldn't be surprised.

"Frenzy, since I'm the medical officer, I need to make sure your systems are sound for future reproduction," he said, his fingers twitching in a slight nervousness. He hadn't touched a femme since his internship, and the fact that she might well be the last, made his hydraulic pressure rise in tension.

She grinned and nodded, more than ready to expose her goods, "I expected as much." Lying down on her back she nodded her acceptance of his examination. Trying not to tense … nobody, except her sister, had bared witness to her spark in a very long time. But in a sense, it was exciting to finally have a male see it. And now that she had his oath, she knew that she could trust him to do whatever she said…..Nothing more, nothing less..

Kneeling next to her, Ratchet slid his fingers under the plating of her chassis, finding the trigger that would pop open her chest and reveal the inner workings. A soft click resounded across the building and then a soft light drowned out the room as the chassis slid back, revealing the femme spark. Ratchet's optics widened in amazement at the thoroughness of the retrofit. There was absolutely nothing 'male' left in Jazz's chassis. Checking to make sure that the sparkling containment box was secure, he was intrigued by the extra shielding around it. "Open," he ordered as he tapped the front of the unit.

The doors slid to the sides, completely protecting her vital circuits and lines surrounding the chamber. Within the chamber were two chambers of equal size. He raised his optic ridges slightly, for obviously this femme had prepared herself to carry twins. Very thoughtful indeed and it would certainly dislodge any future complications if a spark decided to split into twins.

Once that had been finished, he moved his hands down to her cod piece, unlatching it with professional nonchalance. He checked if the ports were working correctly. Pointedly ignoring his own spark's leap at the fact that he was touching a femme's receiving apparatus. He was here as her guardian. Nothing more, nothing less… And he must keep his professionalism about it. "I'm highly impressed with your retrofit," he told the femme. The tone of his voice, told her that he was being honest with his compliment.

She chuckled, tilting her head upward to get a better look at the medic's expression, "We were so used to taking each other apart in order to hide, you get good at it." Yes, she could be as thorough of a medic as Ratchet – if she wanted to. For hackers had to understand schematics, specs and systems. They had to have a rather extensive knowledge of pretty much any equipment, facility, or computer system. And if they were femmes – then they also had to know how to build new chassis for themselves.

"Indeed," he agreed. Tapping for her to close her containment unit, he started to relatch her chassis armor. But before he latched her codpiece back, she stopped him, wrapping a hand steely around the medic's wrist.

Her half-crazed grin re-appeared on her face. "There are benefits to being my guardian." She deftly rose up on her knees, and before Ratchet could say anything, her lips took his. Her glossa slid over his lips in a beckoning manner, daring him to open his mouth and give her a proper introduction.

Realizing she was allowing him to be the first, his spark leapt in excitement. This was the last thing he'd ever have anticipated for the femme to do. Somewhat in shock, Ratchet allowed her glossa into his mouth. Caressing it with his own, suckling it even to get a proper taste of her. His spark pulsed brighter, causing the normally subdued medic to ignore his inhibitions. The femme wanted to bond.. With him.. His dream of having his own sparklings was going to finally be realized.. And he was more than a little willing! With a soft dominant growl, he pulled her towards him. Trying not to think about the fact that it was Jazz's lips he was locked with. For this was no longer that mech.

With a growl of her warm engine, Frenzy-Jazz rolled him to the ground, the thin ends of her strange fingers finding the crevices between his armor plating, stroking the sensitive servos and linkages beneath. A tremor went through the tough medic's chassis, as he felt sensations in his sensory nets that he'd never though he'd ever feel from the hands of a - femme!

Running his fingertips under the lip of her bumper, Ratchet slid them over her primary radar array, causing her to arch against him with a scratching noise of metal on metal. "You sure know where the nets are!" she whispered as she put her leg over his and pressed tighter to him, allowing his cod piece to grind against her exposed wires. Creating sparks of energy to flow through her networks.

"Advantages of being a medical officer," he replied, breathlessly. Slipping his fingers into the exposed servos along her hip joint, he caused another wave of impulse signal to course through her systems, savoring how her body arched against his.

"Mmmm, that's a good spot!" she cooed as she threw her head back and shivered. Her fingers slid under his armor at his shoulders, running gently over his linkages within, pulling roughly on some wires.

As his engine revved slightly in response, he lifted an optic ridge. "You are no novice to this play," he noted. Fairly pleased, since a reasonably experienced femme would be able to handle the psychological turmoil of what was to be required of her. Plus the fact that he was not experienced in the art of full copulation, so it would be nice to have a femme to teach him.

"He, he, the advantages of having a twin," she chuckled. Digging her fingertips deeper into his sensitive circuitry, she caused another bolt of pleasure sensation to bolt through his chassis, his engine making a chocking noise at the sudden rush.

He cocked his head in curiosity once his engine regained its composure, for her twin had been a femme. "So you have not fully copulated before?" He felt a nervous tension begin to fill his core, for he was expecting her to take the lead on this. Since he had assumed that she was the experienced one between them.

She shrugged, "Nope, after watching what the cons did to breeder slaves, seemed safer to just bonding play with my twin. And you?"

Her fingers were causing heat to begin to build up within his chassis, so his cooling fans clicked on. Smiling, he slid his fingertips along her aft linkages. "So I assume you've more than seen the process in its entirety?" At least he hoped she had. All he'd ever seen was medical information films on the topic. He'd been more involved in the result as an intern in the sparkling ward – than the act which caused it.

Chuckling, she arched against him as sensation flooded her systems. "Decepticons do not hide behind closed doors by any means," she snickered. For there had been a multitude of times, coming back to her quarters, she'd had to step over cons ravaging breeder slaves, their screams echoing through the corridors like a haunting melody. "But you didn't answer my question."

Very smart femme indeed! Ratchet cocked his head in interest. But at least it sounded like she had far more personal knowledge than just mere boring films. He thanked Primus a bit for the Decepticons' lack of modesty, for Autobots had always done this in the privacy of their quarters. She had probably already guessed that most of the Autobot femmes had been terminated by the time he was of proper maturity. This ended up forcing the younger unbonded males to seek release with the same type of 'bonding play' that she had done with her twin. Not that it hadn't had its moments; but he had a feeling that this experience was not going to be anything like that. "I am of similar experience to yourself."

Frenzy grinned; it appeared she'd be his first as well. A very interesting situation and stimulating as well! But at least she'd seen this act so often, that the cons had felt it was almost second nature. So even though she didn't know how it actually felt, she knew exactly how to do it.

Reaching down, she slid her fingers under his protective codpiece. Her grin widening as the tough medic gasped while her fingertips danced along his transfer mechanism. He'd obviously never been stimulated there, for you only did that when you wanted to prepare for a transfer. She enjoyed teasing him for a while, fascinated by the expressions that were crossing his face. Decepticon males never got stimulated like this; they basically just threw the breeder slaves down and thrust their transfers into them. To actually 'play' with a male like this, was highly – stimulating. With agonizing slowness, she unlatched his codpiece as he shuddered helplessly against her, his Meta overcome by the unexpected sensations her touch was causing.

Pressing her hips against his, she positioned them for the transfer; just as she'd seen time-and-time again in the rec areas of the Decepticon bases. "Activate, Ratchet," she whispered in his audios. Smashing her lips against his, her glossa entered his mouth, just as she felt the strange sensation of his transfer sliding into her receiver and connecting. His spark flooded into her, joining with her spark in a shock wave of pure ecstasy. Their engine rpms shot up to critical levels as their sensory grids responded to the complete integration of their sparks.

Sensory arrays began to crash in overload sequence, and with a final shudder, they both shut down and disconnected from each other.

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Alerts slowly turned off one-by-one inside his head. Ratchet re-activated his optics and found himself disconnected from Frenzy, but staring into her half-activated blue visor. He hadn't expecting the overwhelming sensation that came with full copulation, for he had only experienced sensory overload with other males. It was far different, and far more intense to actually thrust one's spark into another like this!

She grinned, as her optics fully activated. "Damn, didn't know what I was missin' out on! He, he, he…" she chuckled. Obviously thinking along the same lines as Ratchet was.

The tough medic smiled at the femme, "I'd agree fully with that statement."

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	9. Simple Misunderstanding

**Slight Misunderstanding**

They had been there in the decaying building for many days now, and Ratchet knew that his comrades were most likely in a frenzy trying to find him. Granted, he and Frenzy had coupled many times during that period, so the medic wasn't quite sure he wanted to end this little tryst just yet. Of course, his 'primary' focus was on the fact that he was helping the species' survival. The fact that it was quite enjoyable 'work' was, hmmm, icing on the cake – shall we say…

Running his fingertips lightly over the hood of the femme laying against him, Ratchet contemplated on the fact that surely she had to be pregnant by now. Before too long, he'd be a father. When he was a young medic, he'd delivered quite a few sparklings during his internship. Remembering the feeling of holding new life in his hands as it clicked, clawing at his fingers in a slight fear and hatred of suddenly being separated from its creator, the old medic smiled. He'd always hoped that eventually he'd have his own, but when they had thought all of the femmes had been exterminated, he'd pushed that dream to the deep recesses of his memory banks.

Granted, Frenzy wasn't exactly the type of temperament he'd ever have been attracted to. She tended to be excitable and had quite the temper. But since she was possibly the last femme, he'd just deal with it. At least she hadn't wanted him to dedicate himself as her bond mate, and then he'd be stuck with her. And if she eventually mated with the other Autobots, perhaps one of their daughters would be more Ratchet's type?

Yes, it was good that the last femme had turned out to be a con femme. For Bot femmes would not take the idea lightly of willingly mating with different partners. That is, if you could even convince them to take the risk of pregnancy. Yes, a Bot femme would probably have to be forced to accept the situation, to understand that the importance to the species should override their personal choices. Con femmes didn't seem to have these reservations; they were willing to 'negotiate terms' with various mates. This would help to diversify the narrow spark pool as much as possible. He desperately hoped that other Con femmes were still alive and in hiding. From Frenzy's attitude, he knew that if they found out about Frenzy, they would come out of hiding and stand beside her. This would increase their 'negotiating' power. Might be worse for the males, but species preservation was more important than which sex controlled the 'politics'.

He felt her chuckle as she curled her fingers around his. Frenzy slowly rolled over and pressed herself down on him again. From the glimmer in her optics, Ratchet knew she was ready to go again. Meeting her lips, he slipped his glossa in and caressed her mouth, tasting her metallic bitter flavor even as his fingertips started to caress her sensory nets again...

Then, all hell broke loose as three enraged mechs tore in through the rusted walls of the hangar, thrusting bits of rusted sheet metal and old steel beams over the two lovers.

In less than a blink, Ironhide had crashed through. He landed next to Ratchet like an overprotective hen, and then kicked Frenzy off of him. Frenzy screeched in protest, in the blink of an optic, she had sprang towards the wall. She easily evaded Prime's and Ironhide's bullets, which made the sheet metal side of the hangar look like a dying etcho-sketch when they were done. The femme quickly streaked along the walls, zigzagging in evasive maneuvers, as she returned fire. Sadly, none of her shots hit and she was forced to retreat when she found a hole in the roof. Agilely flipping herself out of it, she ran along the top of the hangar as bullet holes tore through it behind her, sending streams of light into the building like yellow ribbons.

"I've got the little bastard!" Ironhide yelled, as he sprang out of his crouching position near Ratchet's location, ready to leap over him. Yet, before the black mech's second foot could properly leap forward, the medic grabbed that leg. This caused the black mech to fall on his faceplate, introducing him to a dandelion that was growing out of the cement. The weed merely waved at him on a breeze created by the battle, as if mocking his clumsiness in missing it by mere inches.

Not noticing the sudden fall his Weapons Specialist had pulled off rather gracefully; Prime darted outside. He crashed right through the thick metallic sliding doors as if they were nothing more than cardboard. He tried in desperation to get a bead on the fleeing Decepticon.

An irritated growl escaped Ironhide's engine as he stared at the weed, which was still waving at him, and trying to ignore the fact that Ratchet was still holding onto his leg with a death grip. With a hiss of vent, the black mech blew all the seeds of the dandelion, into the air, where they still mocked him, but only in aerial form. "What the hell did you do that for?!" Ironhide yelled at Ratchet as he threw his gaze over his shoulder to properly glare at the medic.

With that said, and no reply but a steely gaze from Ratchet, the black mech tried to get back up. Only to squawk out as the green mech gave a mighty tug, pulling him close enough to punch him in the helm. This caused him to fall back on the floor so that the only thing he could see was the light beams streaming down. "Because you interrupted our mating!" griped Ratchet as he jumped to his feet. Stepping over the black mech, who was now holding his head in pain, as if he were a dead fish.

Ironhide, who had been nursing his head as if he'd been critically injured, suddenly sat up. A look of shock glinting behind his optics, as he realized what Ratchet had just said. "Doin' what?!" Ironhide yelled, still not quite understanding what the hell Ratchet had meant. Was the medic now playing with con males?! Ironhide just couldn't believe that. Not after what he and Ratchet had done just last week!

The medic ignored him, for he was already darting outside, his large feet scrapping noiselessly as he stepped over the metallic doors. Then, coming up behind Optimus like a ridged lumberjack, he tackled the bigger mech before he could fire at the retreating form of Frenzy again. They stirred up mounds of dirt as they hit the ground together, hard. Yet, Prime spun in the roll, automatically pegging his attacker as he spun. Ratchet staggered to the side, as the hit caught him just below the chin, loosening the linkages that held his jaw in place.

"What the slag?!" Prime exclaimed as he stalled his fist from its next oncoming attack when he realized that it was his own medic whom had attacked him. Then Prime took a step back as he scanned his medic over with his optics, whom was rubbing his chin at the moment. He seemed fine, a little dusty, but fine. So what was going on here? "Do you have a glitch or something? 'Cause if you do, you're out of luck for repairs … considering the fact that you are the medic and, even if Wheeljack were here, I doubt you'd trust him in your head."

With that said, the Prime turned his sights back towards the fleeing mech, worrying slightly that this Jazz impersonator had hacked into his medic, stealing valuable information and possibly damaging his programming. Yet, before Optimus could do more than aim, Ratchet grabbed him by his free arm. He whirled the larger mech around so that he had placed himself between his commander and the direction that Frenzy had taken off in.

Soon there were three Autobots before him, each with a different expression of rage, confusion, and downright 'What?' Yet, despite their reactions and attempt to chase after the femme, Ratchet did not move. He even went so far as to reveal his arm saw to show that they weren't going anywhere.

"Ratchet," stated Optimus in a commanding tone, as he leveled a steely glare at the green mech. "What is the meaning of your present actions? Why have you attacked your fellow soldiers?" He cocked his head and raised his optic ridges to emphasize his question and his concern at the uncharacteristic actions of the medic.

The medic said nothing; he was tense, as if he was expecting one of his fellow soldiers to suddenly attack him. His line of sight constantly twitched between the three of them. His hydraulics whined slightly at the high pressure he was forcing them to hold. This sound told his fellow Autobots that he was more than ready to follow through with his threat of violence should any of them attempt to pass him.

"CMO, Ratchet! Answer now or risk being taken down by force," demanded Optimus, taking a step forward. He readied himself to attack his medic. Prime would really rather not; because if Ratchet wasn't glitched up he'd be answering for it in the form of a wrench to the helm and an uncomfortable exhaust flush. The medic could be quite sadistic when he was ticked off and getting even for a mech being stupid.

"Yah answer," chimed in Ironhide as he started cracking his knuckles. He still didn't quite believe the fact that Ratchet had claimed to have been bonding with a male con. It was actually highly insulting to the black mech. Wasn't HE good enough for Ratchet?! He wanted answers and now. "Like what the frag you were saying back there?!"

Ratchet snorted in disgust, crossed his arms over his chest and shifted into a defenseless stance to let the others know he wasn't a threat … at least not right now. "If you three had just bothered to fully recon the situation first, you'd have realized that we were mating - you dolts! Always jumping the gun, and – "

Optimus interrupted him, his vocals nearly squeaking in shock, "Mating?!" he stammered in disbelief. Quickly looking at the others to make sure he wasn't in recharge. Once he was sure that wasn't it, he started to listen for the Twilight Zone theme music like Sam had told him to next time anything weird happened. Nothing … slag, he'd been shot hadn't he? The Prime quickly patted himself down. He ignored the confused looks that everyone had just given him. Thoughts of femmes were momentarily forgotten.

"Optimus? … You okay?" finally chimed in 'Bee. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't overly flustered by this whole situation.

"Y-Yah, I think so? Just making sure I wasn't off lined," added Optimus before he looked back at his medic, who still looked pissed. "Okay … like in mating? Mating, like with a femme and not like fooling around with another mech? Who happens to be Frenzy in a Jazz costume … and the most unattractive mech I can think of…Well, besides the Cons we recently deactivated…."

The medic's optics brightened for a moment before he forced himself to swallow the remark. It wasn't everyday that Optimus made a joke … if that could be called one, but the action at least meant that the Prime had calmed down and was actually trying to listen to him. "Yes, as in the kind of mating that creates sparklings. Please, I'm not that desperate, but I will admit … it's kind of odd to have made out with Jazz's body."

There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone struggled to take this information in, especially the mental image about Ratchet making out with Jazz. Bumblebee actually gagged and Ironhide got a disgusted look, "But Frenzy's a…..Sloggers!" Ironhide stammered, scanning around him as if he expected to suddenly be thrown into the fifth dimension or something.

"But she's also a femme … as in sparkling creating femme," added the two other mech's, not even noticing that 'Bee's wings were now twitching because of the sentence.

Ironhide stood there a moment more, still trying to comprehend. A smile suddenly crawled over his face, and not the ha-ha kind of smile. "Well, I'll be! When I catch her, I'm gonna do more than just kick her aft! Never imagined myself feeling up Jazz, but I think I'll make an exception." His optics lit up at the thought of actually doing a real femme, it'd been way too long since the last time….

The dirty old mech then grinned as an image of Frenzy on his berth flashed before his optics. Yet, he didn't get much farther than a perverted smile, on his metallic lips, and one step forward, when he found himself flying backwards. As the medic grabbed him by his arm, and flipped him over his green shoulder. The old mech wasn't even allowed a grunt as he went crashing against the side of the hangar. A few choice cuss words escaped the black mech as he shook his head and stood up, shaking rusted metal flakes off his shoulders. "You rust bucket! I'm gonna so kick your tailpipes for that!"

"Go ahead and try," Ratchet challenged, spacing his legs so he could throw Ironhide's lumbering weight if he attacked him head on. "But none of you are going to so much as touch her!" he growled in his most threatening tone. The tone that usually proceeded his hitting a mech in the head with a wrench.

"You gonna keep her all to yourself? You selfish piece of slag!" Ironhide yelled as he lunged at the medic.

Optimus interrupted at the last moment, catching Ironhide by the plating near the back of his neck. This caused him to yip like a roped dog and fall on his aft. The Weapons Specialist grumbled and was about to get back to his feet and finish what he started. When Optimus put a hand heavily on his shoulder, and forced his tail pipes back onto the dusty ground.

"That's enough! Now what the heck is going on here Ratchet?! If Frenzy's a femme, then she's got to breed!" he glared at the medic. He expected more of his CMO. He had known Ratchet a long time and thought he could never be this selfish, but it seemed that he was significantly wrong. It sickened him slightly to see his medic like this. Didn't he know, above anyone, how important it was for Frenzy to expand the spark pool as much as possible? Not that inbreeding was as much of a problem as it was for humans who could have major birth defects, like extra limbs. The only major problem that could result would be weak sparks, or sparks unable to reproduce. In the past, with the AllSpark still in existence, such a thing wasn't even thought of as an issue. Born siblings could breed and nobody would look twice. It just didn't matter. Now, if it resulted in a mech that would be inabilitated, it would be a shame, but not an issue. Yet, if a femme were born as such, the species could be set back for another millennia, especially if she managed to kill her healthy mother spark during the potential violence of birth.

Ratchet pulled his hands into fists, obviously still not allowing anyone to follow the femme even though he had cooled down. "Her demands were simple Prime: she breeds with who she wants to, when she wants to, regardless of what you want her to do."

Ironhide huffed at the stupidity of it all. She could have her freedoms after she popped out a few femmes. The good for the many outweighed the good of one. The Weapons Specialist shook the disorientation from his Meta and picked himself up off the ground, a growl on his throat. "She's a femme and possibly the last one. I think what she wants doesn't really matter, she does what we tell her to … it's for a good of everyone!"

"You try that and she'll self-destruct!" Ratchet informed them. His tone told them he was very serious as he threw a death glare at the small crowd.

A small choke escaped Prime's diesel engine and he took a small step back in shock. It was like the medic had just as well said that the femme was dead … He'd hate to force the femme, but she might as well be dead if she wasn't going to reproduce! "That seems highly illogical Ratchet; no mech will purposely self-destruct, especially when they know what's at stake if they shall do so," Prime argued.

"A Decepticon femme would, remember those stories?" Bumblebee quietly interjected. A sick feeling formed in her very spark as she thought of these mechs touching her. Their fingers running down the seams of her chassis, a gleam in their optics as they whispered how they were going to make here squeal underneath them. The femme's spark shivered. True, she had no love for the other femme, but she'd never wish such a cruel fate on anyone, no matter his or her fraction.

The other two looked at each other, realizing the little mech was right. There had been many stories about mass femme suicides within the con ranks. Both, in fact remembered one in particular, who ran out into the line of fire between the two fractions in order escape the hell of a life she existed in, inside the 'Con base. It was a face neither would ever forget even though she died without a name. Here she was, a shoulder completely blown off, half her face melted, but her one optic still shined brightly, reflecting the pristine painted lips as she laughed. The Autobot soldiers' had gathered around her in sickly wonder as her life fluids had pooled at her feet. All she did was laugh … laugh and laugh, not a word or plea was spoken. At the time, The Autobots had no idea why, but right now it seemed to make sense. She was mocking them, as if Primus had told her what was to come.

"I now recall … and never will I forget," added Prime in a forlorn tone as he recalled the 'Con femme, her face forever frozen in a laugh as she went offline. Slowly, he turned his gaze back towards Ratchet, rubbing his chin as if trying to analyze what to do about the whole situation. Dust rose from his feet as he shuffled them slightly. The small cloud seemed to agree with Ratchet that their species was as good as dust if they tried to force themselves on this femme.

"Guess she's quite pissed off, huh Ratchet?" Ironhide said as he shrugged. He tried to keep the disgusted feeling from rising in his chest as he recalled a few more femme 'Cons chassis' he had stumbled across on the endless battlefield … A lot of the fatal damage to them had seemed self inflicted.

"And rightfully so," Ratchet agreed. He still glared at the three for their stupidity in not reconning the situation more thoroughly; then again, he couldn't blame them. The team was desperate to keep itself in one piece with all its members … Especially after losing Jazz and the AllSpark in one false swoop.

'Bee twitched as she watched the males around her go quiet. "Um, so is she your bond mate now or something?" the yellow mech asked as he put his gun away, part of her still disgusted at the idea of Ratchet mating. But if Frenzy had demanded him to be her bond mate, and he had agreed, perhaps femmes wouldn't be raped and used as badly as Bee pictured in her nightmares? Perhaps if First Aid ever found Earth, Bee would consider admitting what she was? She might be able to handle that gentle mech's hands on her. But no one else's – no one's! But the thought of even First Aid's hands still caused that queasy sensation to roll over her. She still didn't want to.. Want to go through a delivery.. Ever!

Ratchet shook his head, "I'm her 'Guardian', and in charge of making sure none of you take advantage of her, unless she's willing. And she's willing to negotiate with different males, or at least, she was." He hoped that his friends' interruption hadn't changed her willingness on that issue. That would be truly disastrous!

Prime and Ironhide exchanged glances, both already figuring out why Ratchet was 'really pissed'. "So I'm assuming that you've already 'negotiated' with her, hmmm?" Optimus insinuated, his optic ridges going up in humor. The sunlight reflected off his chrome as he cocked his head and leveled his brilliant blue optics on the mech. It was highly disconcerting that the femme had chosen the green mech over him. But then again, she wouldn't have been able to 'kidnap' him as easily as she had done it to Ratchet. Indeed, this showed the level of intelligence that the hacker had. Hopefully, she would pass this trait onto the next generation. Preferably without her strong streak of independence and creativity.

Unperturbed, Ratchet nodded. "And she's most likely carrying my sparkling now, so you three will have to wait," he stated flatly. Granted, as many times as they had coupled in just the last forty-eight Earth hours, he had a sneaky suspicion that she was most likely carrying fraternal twins. This would be a good thing, since she had retrofitted herself for this. Silently, he was thrilled the femme was so intelligent. The fewer times she delivered, the safer she would be. It was harder on her spark, but she could spend a longer time in between pregnancies if she always produced two. Better for the species if she survived each delivery and lived a long and productive life!

"Figures," Ironhide grumbled under his breath. He was a bit disgusted that the femme had chosen to 'kidnap' the medic, for now he'd have to 'ask' Ratchet's permission to mate with the femme. Since Ratchet had obviously given the 'con his oath of protection. Shuffling his feet in the dust, he watched the resulting cloud swirl up and around his lower legs. Slogger's was it going to be degrading to ask the green mech's 'permission'.

"Well, guess it's pointless to try and track her down," Optimus said as he nodded in the direction she had disappeared in, the dust from her trail already settling. She'd already out driven their fastest mech once, and was too intelligent for the rest of them to hunt down. Silently he groaned – why did the last femme have to be one of those smart, sneaky hackers of all mechs!?!? She was going to be a true pain to keep in line – providing she would even listen to him the least little bit. Those hackers were used to being loners and getting their assignments done the way they decided to get them done…But a femme was a femme, and he still felt the exhilaration that there was even one left! He'd figure out some way to handle her….

Ratchet nodded and shrugged, "Might take her a while to cool off. She'll come back around when she's ready." He wasn't the least bit worried about her safety. Heck, she was probably sharper than the majority of males. She'd be back before delivery; that was for sure. No femme dared to birth sparklings without assistance; that was almost suicidal. Granted, the Autobots had better get busy building a suitable 'birthing/nursery unit'.

Prime sighed, shaking his head at the stupidity of the whole misunderstanding. "Well, let's transform and head back then. Nothing more can be done here tonight." He briefly looked up at the sun shining brightly in the sky; thanking Primus that one femme had survived the extermination. Their species could now look to the future in a positive light. Maybe one day they would again have cities filled with mechs?

As the four headed back towards town, Bumblebee finally relaxed; glad the whole situation was over. Not a one of her comrades had noticed that she'd never fired her gun! And she was truly amazed at how the Decepticon femme was already managing to manipulate the males with such ease. Perhaps she could learn to like this femme despite her very 'Con like nature. Maybe she'd learn what being a 'femme' was truly all about? After all, nobody would even look at her twice and think 'femme'. She was safe as long as everyone was too busy concentrating on Frenzy. So she already owed the femme a lot.. A lot more than the mechs would ever know….

---

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	10. Temper Tantrum

**Temper Tantrum**

A silence hung over the group for a few moments as they carefully made their way down the steep decline, trying to balance each of their weights at the perfect angles to keep from crashing into the earth. There had been silence as they made their way through the foothills, the Autobot males each buried within their own thoughts until someone dared to speak.

"We will continue," whispered Optimus in disbelief. Since the destruction of the Allspark, the leader had taken it upon himself to blame himself for the species' end. All his closest companions always stated that he put too much weight on his shoulders, that he always took the blunt of the blame. If most of them were still alive, they'd tell him it wasn't his fault … the femmes … Cybertron … the Allspark … his brother. Yet, deep in his spark, he knew his decisions were to blame, but that didn't matter now. His spark was lifted and he felt hopeful for the first time in a long time, "there will be sparklings."

Ironhide snorted, a grin spreading on his face, "Come now Prime, tha's not the only _thing_. How long has it been for you?" he himself had been thinking more on those lines. Frenzy laid out on his berth.. His hands sliding over her.. Her impressed giggles as she touched his cannons..

A choking noise escaped Prime's engine as he gave Ironhide a surprised look, Ratchet giving a sinister chuckle. He felt a strange sense of pride that he'd 'gotten' the femme first. Although it was because Frenzy knew all too well that she couldn't have captured the other two like she'd done with him. And she knew he'd 'negotiate'. And for once in his long life, Ironhide would have to ask his 'permission'. Ratchet couldn't wait for the day….

"Tha' long? Well, don't worry there old timer," mocked Ironhide as he threw a cocky grin at his commander, knowing far too well that he was the old timer, "you can have your turn after me." Although after he taught Frenzy what a real mech was like, Optimus wouldn't have a shot at impressing her. He may look more impressive, but Chromia had been a very creative femme in that department, and Ironhide had been a quick learner.

'Bee could merely walk next to her fellow soldiers, trying not to twitch too often. She just wanted to fall behind and ignore all this talk about … mating. In fact, she had tried to fall back, but Ratchet grabbed the youngling by the arm and pulled her in between the three larger mechs as they excitedly discussed the fact that their species might possibly be saved from extinction. This excited them all, Ironhide whispering some dirty tricks he knew to the others. It was easy to see the elation running through the group was palpable.

Coming around a sharp curve, once they had gotten to the highway, they tried to hug the inner lane tightly. With a fifty foot drop off on one side and a sheer slope on the other, the narrow road was treacherous at best, and Ratchet made it very clear, that if anyone fell off, he wasn't crawling down there through the rock and the mud. They'd have to weld their own fraggen legs back on and crawl up here, where he'd then beat them senseless for not knowing how to drive. It was a well-known secret that Ratchet was considered a mother hen of sorts.

"Crap, they need to widen this road!" Ironhide grumbled as his tire slid slightly, his gaze falling back onto Ratchet's form. Yah, welding one's own legs back on would be fun and all … but nah.

"Yep, with you on that one," Optimus agreed. He was barely able to keep up, since his center of gravity made these tight turns difficult, but he was thinking on the same lines as Ironhide. It was more the beating that got to him though.

Suddenly, there was a rumble and all the mech's were about to transform and act as if they were Cliffjumper. Yet, the sound came from something far more disturbing: the group was strafed with machine-gun fired paint balls, colors blossoming on their chassis like ever so many flowers in May.

"Ajdfl;qjncm ad qopcdm aefuqwpnvs afjqpoef!!! Japdfuwn a fnaopufq ab aojf f!!" Frenzy's cursing at them in Cybertronian was clearly audible as she popped out of the ground on a hanging ridge, her shadow casting over the mechs like a warlord. Dust swirled around her as she almost seemed to dance while she added distinct gestures supporting her vocal insults.

Transforming, the males tried to protect their faces as they were hit by another volley of rapid-fired paint balls. Their appearance soon brought a new meaning to living art.

"Ajdfl;asj dasjfqpoeu ajfw; !!! afjqp ajcopauf qwt4js!!! Pieces of Shit!!" Frenzy continued her Cybertronian cursing of them, adding a little human English as she ran out of derogatory terms for them in their native tongue. Really, Earth was a wonderful planet. It had more ways to insult a person than thank them … and that was one language, alone! After all her hacking, she was now fluent in at least fifty human languages, so her creative streak could put insults together a million times over – and not utter the same exact one twice!

"Sloggers, she's got a temper!" Optimus said as he kept his hands in front of his face and staggered backwards from the onslaught. His battle computer nearly going on the fritz as it tried to force the commander into returning fire.

"You got that right! Ouch!!" Ironhide got pegged especially hard in the helm as he briefly lowered his hands. Crouching down, he tried to make himself a smaller target. Damn, if she was this spunky on the field, he could just imagine how she was in the berth. Being pegged with paintballs almost made it worth it with the thoughts he was having. He remembered one time that Chromia had gotten into such a tantrum, that every inch of his chassis burned with her laser fire.. But that night when they 'made up', one word, WOW!

Hiding behind the larger mechs, Bumblebee couldn't help but snicker. The three were soon glaring at her and she couldn't help but swallow as her Meta struggled to come up with a distraction, "Um, at least its just paintballs!"

"Frenzy – we're sorry!" Optimus said, standing a little straighter and spreading his arms to her in apology. He'd never dealt with a femme with this kind of temper. Now, all those jokes concerning Chromia whipping Ironhide's aft all over base came rushing back to his meta. He groaned.. Primus help them all! Another Chromia!!

"Afouwe4tnwv aqef pqw b rguwn !!! Fuckers! Afjaeu fqpe quiqsdnv qepq afq Ironhide!! Aodfjqf rgfuv !!" As she cursed, she hit Prime full on with another volley of paintballs, plainly stating that she did not accept his apology.

"Geeze, did she have to go and say that?!" Ironhide mumbled at the insult she had used pertaining to his aft section. But Bumblebee was right; at least it was paintballs, not laser fire. Maybe this femme wasn't as mean as Chromia?

"Wonder when she'll run out of ammo?" Bumblebee asked. She'd only been hit by a couple herself; but the bigger males were now a kaleidoscope of colors. At least they had one thing going for them … they'd fit in just fine at a tie-die convention.

"Why don't you try and calm her down Ratchet?" Optimus said, as he continued to try to make himself a smaller target. Which really wasn't working very well, the femme seemed to have a heck of an aim. He thanked Primus that she was just using paintballs to vent.

Ratchet gave him his best 'hell – I didn't start this!' look, but obediently he started forward. "Frenzy, would you stop for a second so that we can discuss better options?" he yelled. As he walked slowly forward with his hands held out to the sides. He stumbled backwards into Prime as two machine gun rounds of pink paintballs hit him.

"That went well," Ironhide mumbled sarcastically, as he looked at the pink-fronted medic curled up on the ground, trying to wipe paint out of his optics. He thought it was quite entertaining that the femme chose that particular color for the medic. Very, um, masculine..

"Hey, we said we were sorry!" Prime yelled, as he continued to stay in a protective crouch. Really, what was wrong with her? He had been interrupted "playing" a multitude of times from mechs that didn't know how to keep their door hacking capabilities to themselves … A.K.A, Jazz…Well he had to admit that those interruptions didn't end up with the femme being booted across the building just as she was fixing to sit down on the mech's, well you know…. But it had been a simple misunderstanding – right?

She harrumphed, strafed them with a few more rounds, then transformed and zoomed away towards the town. A few more select phrases drifted back to their audios. It would have been a sin to say a few days ago, but they were glad to see the last and probably only femme go somewhere else to vent for a while.

----

When they were sure she was gone, the four straightened up and looked at each other.

"You're freagin' lucky you're so damned small!" Ironhide commented as he noticed that Bumblebee hadn't gotten much of the femme's 'punishment'. Granted, the youngster had shown some good tactical inclinations by hiding behind the larger mechs. There were future possibilities with him.

Bumblebee grinned and nodded. Knowing inside that it wasn't because she was small; it was actually because she was a femme. But they didn't know that. And never would!

Optimus sighed and mumbled something under his breath, staring in the direction that Frenzy had gone. "I doubt this is the end of our 'punishment'," he stated, a sadness pressing down on his spark as he thought of the femme's attitude. It was nothing like Elita-1's. She didn't have her softness nor her gracing glances that Elita-1 had … part of him wondered if he could lay down with a femme so unlike his love. Granted, he was comparing apples to oranges, for his femme had been Autobot. This femme was a con and probably didn't know what the words 'soft and graceful' meant in the first place.

"Wish ya'd warned us about her temper!" Ironhide declared as he glared at Ratchet, throwing a sideward's glance at his commander. Prime was frowning … only an old friend could tell that Optimus wasn't truly happy about the femme. He didn't expect them to all be as punctual as his sweet Elita, after all he had met Chromia, but he had been hoping for his Elita neither less … if it were her or just a replicated doll, "Quit moping Prime … she can't be as wonderful as Elit-"

He got a fist in the face for that comment a shocked gasp escaped the other Autobots as they stared at their leader. It was as if, if only for a moment, they saw Megatron in his brother. Only Megaton hit his men.

"Stop it right now!" Ratchet ordered, as he glared at the pissed-off commander, who was now leaning over Ironhide, making sure he wasn't damaged. Optimus knew far too well what the medic thought of fixing injures that were caused by fellow teammates. Ratchet glared at him, for as the chief medical officer he could determine Optimus temporarily unfit for duty, and they both more than understood that he wouldn't hesitate to do it.

Bumblebee couldn't help it; it started out as a giggle. It had been a nervous giggle when she hadn't known what to do. But soon her nervous giggle turned into a real one as Ironhide and Ratchet stared at her, not getting it. It was like a flock of paintings had decided they wanted to play war. That did it, and she doubled up in laughter and fell on the ground.

"And what's so funny?!" Ironhide demanded to know, the confused look that had been planted on Optimus quickly turned to the femme.

For a few seconds, Bumblebee was unable to talk, still laughing and not knowing quite why. Her shrieks of laughter increasing every time she looked up at their multi-colored, paint-splattered facades, she fell back into snickers again.

Optimus sighed in disgust, the rage and sorrow dripping off his spark as if it were water, "Get a hold of yourself youngling!" he ordered. Grabbing the young mech's door, he yanked him to his feet. He stared at the youngling for a moment, seeing his youth … seeing a part of Elita in him that he had never noticed before. True, Frenzy was nothing like his sweet Elita … but the young sparklings to be born from her? Who's to say that they wouldn't be like her, if only for a fleeting moment?

"He, he, he… do you mechs realize how silly you look?!" Bumblebee stammered in between her chuckles, finally deciding what was so fricken hilarious. "And just one pissed off femme has got you … he, he, he.. Cowering worst than…he, he… a whole squad of cons!" The second Prime let go of her door, Bumblebee fell back on the ground in convulsions of laughter.

Prime looked at Ironhide and Ratchet – now barely recognizable under their multi-colored facades. His face slowly broke out in a big grin, and then he began to chuckle. At first looking at their leader in surprise, wondering where his earlier rage had fled too, but it was quickly decided that sometimes-old skeletons crawl out of the closet and then are quickly buried. Allowing something else to the surface … like the humor in the whole situation. Soon, all four of them were laughing and joking about femmes and tempers.

"Yep, now we know how she got the name 'Frenzy'!" Optimus said, still chuckling, fleeting images of Elita still haunting him. Now replaced with images of trying to mate with Chromia, which made it all the more hysterical! He never could understand what Ironhide had seen in that particular femme. They had always figured he was into some strange kind of self-torture or something with her.

Ironhide nodded, glad his leader had regained his spirit, "How in the hell the cons put up with her – I'll never understand!" But he was more impressed with how the femme had managed to survive the cons. After all the mass femme suicides in their ranks because of their penchance for sadism and rape! Damn this was a tough broad. He was getting more intrigued about her by the moment.

Bumblebee finally stopped laughing, her grin landing on her fellow soldiers. "Wonder if all the con femmes had this temper? Perhaps we're lucky Brawl wasn't a femme?"

This got the group rolling in laughter again, Ratchet twitching at the thought of bedding such a being, which only made the rest of the group laugh all the harder.

-----

Finally, the group stopped laughing and resumed their trip back 'home', tires kissing the gravel as if welcoming the feel of it beneath them. The winding curves and extreme drop offs, now barely noticed.

"I just hope she hasn't re-armed herself," Ironhide commented, as his scanners danced over the ridges. A small part of him was praying that he did see her again … he had suddenly drawn a liking to the femme. Not only was she spunky and mean to boot … but she was like Chromia. A part of him wagered that if he off lined his optics while holding her, he'd smell his lost lover, feeling the curves of her form match so perfectly within his, and hear her voice echoing in his audios like the fading wind off steel beams. Maybe after she was done sharing her spark with other males in order to widen the spark pool? Shaking himself slightly.. He brought himself back to reality…

"You and me both!" Prime agreed, his own thoughts dwelling on lovers long since lost … perhaps forever. Of hardened con femmes being the only femmes strong enough to survive the slaughter… Never knowing the softness of a laugh or love…

---

"Holy shit…" Prime cursed as they stood in front of the warehouse that was now their 'home'. His processor went into overdrive trying to calculate how fast this femme had to have worked in order to have accomplished this. In just the short time between her assault on them and their return home!

Every tree on the property was now solid white with toilet paper. Even the dumpster itself was wrapped in several layers. The sides of the warehouse had been vandalized with spray-painted 'select' phrases in their native tongue.

"Um, Prime, we tried to stop Jazz – but he was mumbling in a weird language and seemed to be very pissed off," Sam said apologetically as he and Mikaela came out of their hiding place, like rats pulling themselves out of the river after a flood. "Whoa, what happened to you guys?!?" he stammered in shock as he saw the multi-colored facades of his friends.

"Yep, she's pretty pissed," Ironhide agreed. Nodding his helm to the two humans, he looked around in amazement at the sheer energy of the femme. Yah … just like his Chromia. He was beginning to get even more interested in this con femme. He'd always liked femmes that had a rather hard edge…. They were good to have beside you on the battlefield – and on the berth.

"She?" Mikaela asked, still looking up at the paintball covered mechs in total shock.

Ratchet looked down at her, his scans dancing over them to make sure that the femme hadn't' hurt them. True, the femme seemed pretty harmless, but she was still a 'Con. A wise man knows how to turn his back, yet keep on watching, "Why yes, it turns out that a femme has managed to survive the extermination."

"Oh wow! So that means you guys won't go extinct! That's great!" Sam said; his voice full of happiness. It had been a cold dwelling on his part … after all, in a sense; it was his entire fault if the species was going extinct. He had destroyed the Allspark and had doomed his companions, but now it seemed that there was a hope for them … and hope for him too.

Mikaela looked around at all the vandalism that the femme had done. "So Jazz is a femme? Why's she acting so weird?"

The medic cleared his throat as he wandered over and began to pull toilet paper out of a tree, half of him wishing it weren't true. But, hell, pickers can't be choosers.. "It's not Jazz's spark in that chassis – it's Frenzy's."

Sam and Mikaela looked at each other in shock, Sam's eye twitching. That Decepticon had attacked them on several occasions, and she was truly a freak. Well, as much as talking robots from space can be freaky. Granted, he had only heard the freak 'speak' a couple of words. Mostly she had seemed to chatter meaninglessly.

"So Frenzy's the last femme?" Sam asked, dread in his voice. He could already see the nightmares he was getting from this … especially when he pictured Optimus and the others alone with Frenzy … in the dark ... making strange moaning noises. The kid nearly blanched right their in front of everyone. He was going to make a mental note to not be around Frenzy or the others when they decided to get frisky. It was repulsive to say the least…

Taking his armload of toilet paper towards the dumpster, Ratchet nodded. "That would appear to be the case. If we are lucky, her presence may attract more like her, hiding in plain sight." Yes, from what Frenzy had said, when one femme came out and began to 'negotiate', the unwritten rule amongst the femmes, regardless of the 'male faction' they were imbedded in, was that she was now their leader. They would come out of hiding and stand behind her, adding their strength in numbers to her negotiating ability. Although, thinking of Frenzy as a 'leader' made him rather queasy, but when she was calm she was highly intelligent.

The two humans nodded their heads, silent praying that that were the case. Neither knew how long it would take before one of them would indefinably go mad and try to kill everyone in the base. Who knows … whatever Frenzy had might be contagious.

Bumblebee walked by them with another armload of toilet paper, seemingly with a bounce to 'his' step. It didn't go unnoticed by the humans. Of course, any step any of the Autobots took didn't go unnoticed: ability to get squished and all.

"So why are you so happy?" Sam asked him, trying to find any subject that would drown out the Frenzy images with Ironhide that were popping into his head at random. After all, Ironhide seemed to be on the edge of violence at all times, just like the freak. Sam couldn't help but shudder a bit at the thought of the two of them making a permanent pairing of sorts. He made a mental note to keep Mojo in the house at all times, should that occur.

The yellow mech grinned at them, "Life won't be boring – that's for sure!" he snickered. He didn't have a worry in the world now … the war was over, his companions were happy, he could disappear from the base with Sam and Mikaela whenever he wanted too because everyone was obsessing over Frenzy, and he wouldn't have to sacrifice his body for the future of their kind. Really, the only worry she had now was what songs she was going to listen to tonight, and how to kick Sam and Mikaela out of her interior if they got a little to frisky.

Ironhide snorted, "You just think its funny, because you're too young to understand!" he glanced at the youngster, judging how long he thought it'd be before the kid would be mature enough. Then he'd have even more competition to deal with…He continued to mumble under his breath as he went to another tree and started pulling toilet paper out of it. Yes, Frenzy was just like Chromia when you pissed her off badly enough. Except Chromia wouldn't have used paintballs, she would've used lasers set on medium. She liked to make sure you stung for a while afterwards….

Bumblebee merely shrugged. Leaning down, he whispered in Sam's ear "He's just mad because I hid behind him! He, he, he…And Ratchet's already scored…" he knew it was more the second one, Ironhide just couldn't stand it that the dull medic got her first.

As the Autobots continued to clean up the mess, Sam and Mikaela were still in shock over the whole situation. It didn't take long for Mikaela to slap Sam.

The boy jumped away from her with a start, holding his cheek, "W-what was that for?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders, "Just making sure this wasn't some horrible, horrible, dream."

The boy rolled his eyes, rubbing his cheek while pouting like a whipped dog, "Aren't you supposed to slap yourself if you think it's a dream?"

"Yah, but this seemed more like it was your kind of dream than mine."

The boy was silent for a moment, before he yelled after her, being mindful of the way her hips swing in tune with her hair, "Hey, once! I only had that dream once! And believe me … it was more a nightmare."


	11. Preparing the Maternity Ward

**Preparing the Maternity Ward**

For several days, the Autobots kept themselves busy by repairing the vandalism to both their warehouse and themselves. Frenzy-Jazz had been nowhere to be seen, but none of them seemed overly worried. Each one assuming she was close by and watching in amusement as they did the work to clean up her mess.

"Well, everything and everyone finally looks normal again," Optimus stated as he studied their finished work. The waves of heat radiating off the steel finish of the buildings made it seem an even hotter day than it was.

Ironhide nodded, his optic dimming for a moment as he double checked his work with a scan. "Lets just hope we don't piss the freagin' bitch off again. Cleaning up was a pain in the aft!"

Ratchet merely snickered and walked back towards the warehouse's entrance, the sunlight reflecting off his paintjob. It might have taken him forever to get the paint off, but he was damn proud of the shine he got from all that scrubbing. Yet, before he stepped into the room, the medic looked over his shoulder, feeling in a slightly taunting mood - he added, "Maybe she's finally taught you two, to recon before you act? Hmmm?"

"Bastard's never gonna let us forget this one – is he?" Ironhide groaned.

"Doubtful," Optimus agreed, throwing Ratchet a passing glance before properly making optic contact with Ironhide; a sign of friendship and respect. "Granted, I'd be pissed too if I was ready for copulation and you came storming in and kicked the femme right off me – wouldn't you?" He raised an optic ridge in emphasis, loving the frown that appeared on his companion's facial plates.

"Ya, ya. Keep talkin' Prime," muttered the soldier. He turned his back to his commander and slummed back towards the warehouse, keeping his stature straight in stubborn pride.

Prime shook his head, chuckling at the black mech. He figured Ironhide was more bent about the fact that Ratchet had scored before he had, than anything else. The tough medic wasn't much of a player in that way to begin with, so his 'luck' with the femme had kind've taken all of the males by surprise. But Prime couldn't complain. He knew that Ratchet would be a responsible creator, and would certainly balance out any … misfortunate … attitude problems the offspring might inherent from his or her mother. Now that he thought about it … yah, he was very glad that it was Ratchet to produce first, because if Ironhide was the first … well, everyone might have to agree that it would be a good thing to go extinct.

----

Sam and Mikaela watched as the four mechs erected the solid steel walls, the metal screaming in protest. A grinding sound filled the area as Prime and Ironhide hefted the two inch thick metal sheets and set them in place. The two quickly stepped sideways slightly to allow Ratchet and Bumblebee rivet them firmly to the stout metal framework. They'd already put an inner layer, and now were working on a second 'outer layer'.

After the pounding of construction had halted in its insistent banging, the two teens walked into the new rooms and looked around them in amazement. For the Autobots had done this to the floor and ceiling as well, basically creating solid metal cubes with only the double doors to get into and out of the space. This space was then divided into two equal spaces, with the double metal walls again separating them.

Mikaela whistled as she walked out of the new rooms. "So who are you guys trying to keep in? Megatron?" she half-joked half-asked, her sharp eyes watched them as they continued to work.

Ratchet looked down at her as he riveted another section. He could only pray that his sparkling was just as curious as it seemed every human was, especially Mikaela. "No this will be the birthing chamber and the containment chamber," he informed her.

Sam shrugged and shook his head slightly to Mikaela, for he didn't really understand why they needed such a highly secure area either. "Um, so why are you making it more secure than Fort Knox – if you're just going to have babies in there? You afraid they are all going to be hell raisers like Frenzy?"

Ironhide looked down with a rather shocked expression on his face. Having very little knowledge of human reproduction after the offspring was conceived. After the slimy description from Ratchet about just how the baby was created by both parents and all the fluids swapped. He really hadn't want to know anymore. "Sparklings are some of the most violent little shits for the first week after birth!" he said. Weren't humans?

Mikaela's eyes widened for a moment in shock, but then she remembered when they had witnessed cell phones being sparked by the AllSpark. "Wow, so it's sort of like those crazy cell phone creatures, that started attacking everything that moved!?"

Ratchet and Ironhide shared a confused look towards the humans. Neither bot had any idea about the life forms that were so easily destroyed by the humans of Sector Seven. Yet, before the mech's could inquire on what they were bloody rambling about, Sam decided to spare the lives of the sector guys by interrupting.

"Then how do they, like, become like you guys?" Sam asked. Looking up at Prime and the others, he just couldn't imagine that they all acted like those insane cell phones when they were born. Except Ironhide … Yah, he could so see him running around, cackling as he burned cities to the ground. In fact, how did the species survive him to begin with?

Stopping briefly to grab another handful of rivets, Ratchet looked down at the humans. This was not a hard subject to discuss, so he could still use his hands. Except if he had to explain this to a youngling when they came of age. 'Bee was enough and he was not going to do it again. If he could help it… After Bee, the older youngling would tell the younger ones the deal. And on down the line it went. "When we are first sparked, there is no programming other than what you would call 'instinct'. And our first instincts are to protect ourselves from possible danger."

"Basically, shoot anything that moves," Ironhide cut-in. As a wicked smile threatened to consume his face, since he still enjoyed shooting anything that had a particular insignia.

"Unfortunately, some of us never quite outgrow that tendency do we?" Ratchet said with a straight face as he eyed the Weapons Specialist. Slightly, he tried to decide if he should throw a tool at his head for good measure. In the end, he decided that perhaps it wasn't best too. Might mentally scar the humans… At least that had been 'Bee's excuse.

"Why you little –" Ironhide growled, wanting to drop the metal sheet and strangle the medic for just a second. Yet, he resisted. Ratchet and he had been playing this banter game for centuries. It was just a glorified, slightly violent game as far as he was concerned … Save the strangling for the real fights.

"Ironhide, settle down." Prime ordered calmly, more than use to the little jabs that the two mechs would throw at each other for mild entertainment. And just to see who would snap first. Surprising, it was the only instances when both mechs held their tempers. This made it more of a competition of restraint – than true threats. Prime grinned … Perhaps he could train the twins to play this game?

"So basically, if sparklings are over stimulated too early, they will behave very erratically. They must have a secured area with little stimulus for at least the first Earth week. Then they generally start to calm down," Ratchet finished explaining. He could hear the little angry jabbering of the sparklings now from inside their 'cages'. It was strangely frightening and comforting at the same time.

As they finished riveting the last section, the Autobots checked their work and then went and lounged in the main console room on the far side of the expansive warehouse. The light from the big screens reflected off their armor in an almost mournful way.

"So why do you guys seem so happy that it's Frenzy that's the femme. Wouldn't you rather have some Autobot femme instead?" Sam asked. He was still dreading when Frenzy would decide to show back up in all her Jazz impersonator glory. Vision of those crazed blue optics glaring at him as she grabbed his pants, trying to kill him – still haunted his nightmares. Well, at least now if she killed him. He'd still have his pants on along with his dignity.

Mikaela nodded her agreement. "Ya, wouldn't a sane femme be better?"

Optimus was silent for a moment as he rolled the question over in his CPU. Before he softly answered, "It is perhaps better that she turned out to be a Decepticon femme." The leader was silent for a moment before sadly offering, "For Autobot femmes would not like the idea of accepting multiple mates. They were proud and loyal. They could not betray their original mate in such a way."

Ironhide chuckled, "Hell, it'd be hard to convince an Autobot femme to even get pregnant once!" He nudged Bumblebee, giving him a cocky grin as if expecting the youngster to just blindly agree with him.

Listening silently, Bumblebee seethed at the cockiness of her caretaker. What was wrong with that, really? Couldn't they understand the risk there was in birthing? The only thing that they had to contribute to the process was the fun part and then when the hard part came – they'd just as well not be there. It'd be beyond hard for them to convince HER to get ripped to shreds by sparklings! They'd have to force her. And if that was the case … She'd rather die than have that thing twisting and turning inside her like some parasitic worm. Whose only function was to try and get her killed. She'd rather take her own life and have a little dignity in death.

But, despite her obvious contempt for Frenzy's presence - She was happy that Frenzy wanted the males to herself. No one would be interested in her. Exactly the way she wanted it! Bumblebee was just fine staying as 'a mech'. And that was all that had to be said on the subject.

Sipping her coke, Mikaela's lips became pursed. She stared at the ground for a moment in confusion. Watching an ant crawl below, before asking, "Why … is it dangerous or something? I mean, women die in child birth every once and a while, but we still have kids everyday."

"You must understand," Ratchet started to explain. His optics seemed to get an almost far-away look in them as he remembered his internship at the maternity ward. "Femmes face greater odds than humans of serious injury and even death during birthing – than even we mechs faced on the battlefield. Frenzy has done well in preparing her shielding, but even with that – there is high risk." He hid the tremble of his fingertips, for as the doctor, it would be his job to coordinate the quick containment of the sparklings before they could cause that damage. If he wasn't successful – he didn't even want to think about the consequences.

Optimus nodded his agreement. "My own femme bond mate and I decided against having our own sparklings for that very reason. With the AllSpark still around, it was pointless to risk her life like that." He thought of Elita One, wishing he'd protected her from the mass murder of all the obvious femmes. But there had been no warning, no time! Still, a small hope hung in his spark that she'd be reborn one day. Even though he may never know it was her.

"Ya, mine too. Just didn't seem worth it at the time," Ironhide agreed. His voice was low with grief at the remembrance of his off lined femme.

"So why is Frenzy willing to do this? With males she has no feelings for?" Mikaela asked. She was just blown away, for even if she herself was the last woman on Earth – she doubted she'd do that willingly!

"Because the Decepticon femmes have different values than ours did. They saw this as a way to regain their 'power' in our society. To them, this very situation has been expected and anticipated for – for eons. They didn't hide merely to survive like our femmes tried to do, they hid in anticipation of bringing us males to our knees," Ratchet told them. He'd had long conversations about this with Frenzy during their tryst, so he more than understood their psychology concerning reproduction.

"So she's basically an extortionist or something?" Sam asked. In his mind, he was really thinking along the lines of her being a prostitute – but then, she wasn't exactly doing this for the male's pleasure at all. So that term didn't seem to quite fit this.

"Not really. Decepticon femmes just think that all male mechs are of inferior intelligence. Thus, they planned to take over – once we had destroyed everything with our war." Ratchet watched Ironhide's reaction to how Frenzy truly thought of them. Sure enough, he could tell the black mech wasn't particularly happy with being considered inferior by the femme.

Ironhide clenched his fingers, knowing the Ratchet was just waiting for him to lose his temper over it. And he wasn't about to let the smart aft get what he expected. So, with great effort, the black mech kept his cool.

Optimus leaned back against the wall he sat in front of. "The sad thing is, is that they were very right. We were just too blind to see the bigger picture." His voice was filled with sadness, for all the femmes that had needlessly been slaughtered. All because they were considered weak and useless, and now the entire species depended on a single one of them.

Bumblebee had stayed very, very quiet throughout the entire conversation. The older mechs had just assumed that because of his apparent youth that he really didn't know enough to talk about it. But they were so very, very wrong. For the yellow mech wanted to scream out about the war. About the femmes being right! Mind you, she hated them for being right. Hated them for leaving in her behind in this hell! Hated them for not putting her out of her misery when she was still a sparkling!

Hadn't those 'intelligent' femmes known of mercy! If they knew this was coming, one of them should have at least taken it as a personal obligation to take a gun and depart her head from her chassis. She never wanted to breed! But it wasn't like that mattered. The moment anyone found out, she'd be dragged into the nearest room and forced. 'Bee shivered, feeling sorrow build in her spark. They'd rape her! Her companions… Her friends… Her fellows in arms, and when they were done they'd leave her shivering alone on the berth; claiming it was for the sake of the species'. Then she'd be left alone like a meaningless vessel with no voice. Whose only purpose was to allow maggots to grow in her belly. And once the maggot had had its fill of parasite-ing off her innards, she'd face that terrible day of delivery. Which allowed a large possibility of having her vital systems ripped up and gnawed on - like dogs to a bone! Her door wings trembled as she fought to keep her composure.

"Ah hell, it ain't so bad to realize we've been stupid is it?" Ironhide drawled as he patted the young mech. He'd seen the expressions of disbelief and dread cross the youngling's face, and just figured it was youthful pride of not wanting to admit they were wrong. Poor kid. The destruction of the Allspark had hit him hard; he'd been acting funny ever since.

Bumblebee gulped and looked up at his friend, trying to straighten his wings in order not to give away just how terrified she was of her own caretaker right now.

"But its Frenzy," he stammered.

"Ya, I know. But at least she's still functioning. It could be worse you know." Ironhide squeezed the youth's door wing, trying to ignore how the wing seemed to twitch away from him. Perhaps his strange behavior of late wasn't about the Allspark at all. Maybe the kid was just thinking about the day he'd be old enough to breed with her – and probably dreading it; mainly due to his history in battle against her.

"And we're all on the same side on this one, Bumblebee," Optimus added. He was also assuming the same things about the youth's reactions to this conversation. His optics now noticed that 'Bee had been inching away from them during the whole conversation.

'Bee said nothing …


	12. Friendly Competition

**Friendly Competition**

The Autobots had been very correct in their belief that Frenzy-Jazz was very close by and watching them. In fact, she'd been making it a habit to sit just on the other side of the overlooking hilltop each day. Her chassis overcome by the spasms of her silent laughter as they slowly cleaned up all of her vandalism. Yes, it had been very satisfying to 'decorate' their home. It had taken her merely twenty Earth minutes to do so. Yet it had taken the mechs three day cycles to clean it up.

When she had done it, the two flesh creatures had run out of the warehouse. Yelling at 'Jazz' to quit it and come to 'his' senses. She had considered stepping on the freagers. To feel their warm organic fluids squish out from under her metal foot would've been thoroughly enjoyable. But she had stopped herself. For if she was going to 'align' herself with the Autobot males then they wouldn't have been pleased if she terminated their little pets. So she'd just threatened the pathetic humans, and had watched in glee as the two had scampered off to hide. Eventually she'd get the pets trained.

After the mechs had finished cleaning up, she watched in amusement as Optimus left and then came back pulling a flatbed trailer. It was loaded down with heavy gauge sheet metal and struts. Making a quick calculation in her meta, she concluded that they were starting the construction of the birthing unit. So instead of going ahead and coming down to the warehouse, she decided to keep her distance for a few more days. Then they'd be done and she wouldn't have to lift a single appendage.

Granted, for what they expected of a femme, they should do all the construction! For what she was going to have to do was far more risky. So she didn't feel the least bit guilty about not helping. Not an ounce…

-------

After two days of hard labor, they were finally done with the construction. Ratchet had pushed them rather hard, and had been quite bossy the entire time. But Optimus had kept his mouth shut and just 'followed' the medic's orders. After the misunderstanding back at the old hangar, he and Ironhide had felt terrible. And Ratchet was also the only one with any experience around birthing sparks and the necessary facilities for such – so he had every right to become the 'construction boss'.

But now that they were finished, Optimus fought the urge to slightly manhandle the stubborn medic. For Ratchet was still not about to let them forget about their 'stupidity of not reconning', and everyone was getting a little fed-up with it. A couple wrenches upside the helm was one thing, but having to endure endless days of sarcastic side comments was an entirely different matter. So Prime ordered Ratchet to stay at the warehouse and told everyone else they could go off and have some much-deserved R-and-R. It had truly amazed him just how fast everyone had peeled out of the parking lot – himself included.

Ironhide had been more than thrilled when Prime had ordered the R-and-R, for he was just about to go against orders and disappear for a while anyways. Ratchet's continual side comments about their 'stupidity' had gotten on his last nerve days ago, and only the fact that he'd probably get his aft stomped by Optimus afterward, had kept him from punching the medic. So he floored it out of the gravel parking lot, not caring in this least that the gravel he kicked up was hitting his chassis.

Zooming down the back roads, he let his frustration out as he jumped each rise. The feel of his shocks straining in protest as he came down, filled him with some satisfaction. So caught up in his driving, he never even noticed the silver Viper that was rapidly gaining on him. Until it passed him like he was standing still! Loud heavy metal music blaring as it did so.

"So you wanna race?" he heard Frenzy-Jazz's voice ask over his radio. The silver femme taunted him with snickers.

Knowing he was no match for the sports car, Ironhide wasn't phased in the least. A 'race' would expend some of his pent up tension, and at least the little vandal hadn't snuck up and pegged him with any more paint this time. "Ok you little vandal, I'm game," he radioed back.

Frenzy-Jazz slid to a stop on the left side of the road, Ironhide slamming his brakes and stopping next to her. Ahead of them, the two-lane road started as a straight away, and then curled like a snake through the hills. The terrain was rough, but all scrubland with few tress and even fewer fences.

"There's a BP 'bout fifteen miles, that's our finish line. Think you can keep up?" Frenzy-Jazz snickered. Her engine revved in excitement of leaving his tail pipes in her dust.

"I'll be waiting on you," Ironhide drawled. An idea was forming in his meta, and he wasn't about to be shown up by the little vandal, femme or not. If he was going to have to protect her tail pipes, she was going to learn to show him some respect.

"3…2….Go!" the silver femme yelled. Both of them peeled rubber as they shot forward as fast as they could accelerate. Predictably, the Viper easily out-accelerated the truck. She was at the hills before he was even halfway down the straightaway.

But Ironhide had a plan, so he watched her as she made those hairpin turns at amazing speeds and simply chuckled. As soon as he came to the end of the straightaway, he simply quit following the road. Shifting into four-high, he sped up the side of the hill and jumped over its other side, his shocks screaming in protest as he came down heavily on the other side. He crossed the snaking road just a half mile after Frenzy-Jazz had flown by.

Grinning inside at the fact he'd already cut her lead down by two miles, he floored it again and shot up the side of the next hill. This time he caught a good twenty feet of air before his tires hit the ground. Dust flew up in a thick cloud as he spun his tires and shot across the narrow road again. This time he was just a quarter mile behind Frenzy-Jazz. "I'm gonna so whip your tail pipes you little freak!" he snickered as he shot up the next hill.

By the time they were both through the hills and the road became a straight away, Ironhide now had the two mile lead. Shifting back into two-high and overdrive, his muffler roared as he floored it. The BP was coming into view… Just another half-mile… He could see the silver Viper gaining rapidly in the rear view… Then they were over the 'finish line' right as she passed him.

They both locked up their brakes at the same time, Frenzy-Jazz able to skid to a full stop before Ironhide. He slid by her, his heavier weight making it much harder to stop his forward momentum.

They transformed and stood in the center of the empty road, studying each other. Ironhide still found it very disconcerting to be staring at his 'old buddy' all the while knowing that it was the femme spark 'Frenzy' within. He imagined kissing Jazz's lips, running his hands along the mech's chassis.. A wave of slight nausea spread from his core.. For it was hard not to think of the femme as 'Jazz'. And he'd never been attracted in the least little bit to Jazz like that.. But he guessed that it could've been worse. She could've animated one of those off-lined con chassis instead. Now that would've been really disgusting…….

Frenzy-Jazz cocked her head, her normal half-crazed grin spreading over her face. It was kind've fun to let her optics rove over the black mech's chassis, knowing full-well that she had nothing to fear from him. He knew better than to even make one move that she didn't agree with. She felt the power of being femme course through her. The knowledge that she was worth more than life itself to these mechs, that they would willingly sacrifice themselves to keep her safe and functioning! Yes, this was what the Con femmes had struggled for, lived for, and died for.. A brief touch of sadness rolled through her, for she so wished that the one Transformer that she had ever loved could see this.. But her sister, Rumble, was gone forever….

She debated if she should insult or compliment this male. Making some split second calculations in her meta, she decided it was in her best interests to actually stroke his ego slightly; Even though she really preferred to insult the dumb aft. "He, he, Surprised me with the off-roading," she chuckled. Her blue visor gleamed in amusement as she watched his reaction to her 'compliment'.

Expecting an insult, Ironhide couldn't help but widen his optics a little at the slight compliment. Cocking his head, he studied the silver femme intensely. Was she working him? Was she actually insulting him, but disguising it as a compliment? Was she actually giving him a compliment in an effort to smooth things between them? He wondered what Prime would advise him to do under the circumstances. He'd probable say to take it at face value, since he was going to have to figure out how to live somewhat peacefully with the temperamental femme in the ranks. So that's how Ironhide decided he should react, well kind've, "I guess we males aren't as stupid as you thought?" he replied. He just couldn't help the tiny insult… After all the vandalism she'd done to him…

She actually broke out into some hysterical laughing at his retort. "He, he.. Perhaps next time I'll challenge you to a paint ball match, hmmmm? See if you can actually manage to get one drop of red on my paint job?" A truly devilish gleam came into her visor, telling him that this challenge would one day occur.

So, she was really that good of an intelligence gatherer? She'd even managed to overhear that entire conversation between himself and Optimus? Ironhide couldn't help but be a touch impressed with the hacker's capabilities, even though she still annoyed him to no end. He found himself a touch happy that she'd chosen to align herself with the Autobot mechs, for he'd hate to keep dealing with her as an enemy. "We'll see about that Frenzy. You just name the time and place – and prepare yourself for a new and improved color scheme." He grinned as he accepted her future challenge, more than willing to scrape paint off his own paintjob in order to see her do the same. His cannons whined as he activated them to show his willingness.

Snickering, she boldly walked up to the hulking Weapons Specialist and slapped his canon in a comradely fashion. "I see this will be an entertaining partnership, aye?" she joked. But her optics showed her seriousness in the matter.

Deactivating his canon, Ironhide nodded. He was still not sure how to deal with this freaky femme, but if she enjoyed challenges like this, he was more than up to it. In fact, it would sure break up the boredom of living in peace. "So, are you going to follow me back?" he asked. He assumed that since she had chosen to 'seek' an Autobot out, it meant she had finally cooled off and was ready 'to join' their ranks and accept their protection.

A mischievous grin spread on her face. She wanted to see just what she could get these dolts to do to win her favor. How far could she twist them around her appendage? "Why should I follow you? I've always wanted to see how off-roading felt," she chuckled.

Ironhide cocked his head in curiosity. Was she asking for a lift? She was small enough to ride in his alt mode bed, so was that what she wanted to do? And why - To see if he'd actually agree to it? His first instinct was to tell her to kiss his aft, but then he remembered that Ratchet had stated she was willing to negotiate with different males. So perhaps it would be better to lower himself a bit, agree to take her off-roading. And thus, be in a more favorable position to negotiate with her when she decided to carry another sparkling? After all, he'd be in competition with Optimus during that cycle, so he'd need every advantage he could get. He really didn't want to wait and watch while both of his friends became fathers before him. It already irked him immensely that Ratchet was the first in line for that one. So yes, he'd better give her a freagin' lift….

But he wasn't about to do it without just a little bit of an insult, he just couldn't resist… "Think you're mech enough to actually manage to hang on?" he challenged. Putting his hands on his hips he studied the silver femme.

Seeing it for the vain attempt to keep a bit of his worthless dignity even as he gave in to her demand, Frenzy-Jazz snickered, but let him think he had actually managed to do that. "Yes, I can," she replied as her optics locked with his. Neither one was willing to fully give in to the other; and both of them trying to irk the other as much as they could and still be 'polite'.

"We'll see," he snorted as he transformed. He was going to enjoy seeing just how much air he could get after each hill's summit. And the prospect of the silver femme flying out of his bed and onto her aft in the dirt; made him that much more excited to do it. He didn't care if he blew a shock or strut in order to accomplish this feat. After all, she had 'accepted his challenge' that she wouldn't fly out. So it'd be very satisfying for him to win and gloat a bit as she dusted her aft off.

In the blink of an optic, Frenzy-Jazz hopped into his bed and squatted there. Grabbing his roll bar firmly and bracing her feet firmly against the interior sides of his bed. She knew he was going to more than try to cause her to fly out and eat her words, but the mere challenge of proving the male wrong, made her even more eager to do it. "Let's roll Autobot, and see which one of us is laughing in the end!" she snickered….


	13. Challenges met

**Challenges Met**

"Bumblebee stop!" Sam yelled as he threw his head out of the passenger's side window like a dog wanting to feel the wind in his hair. He blinked his eyes a few times and then plopped back down into the vehicle with a confused look on his face, rubbing his eyes once before looking back out the window. No, it wasn't a mirage he was seeing … damn, he was too young to be going crazy.

"Why?" the yellow mech asked. There weren't any obstacles coming up on the road, no stores to be had. So he wondered why his friend was yelling for him to stop so suddenly. Perhaps the human needed to pee or something?

Sam looked at the radio in the car with a disbelief look and pointed out the window for emphasis, "You don't see them?! Look over at the hills towards the East."

Bumblebee scanned with visuals in the direction that Sam was indicating. There was a squeal of strained brakes and a whine from Sam as he got whiplash from the sudden buckling and stop. The femme in disguise sat there for a moment on gravel road, dust settling around his form in a lazy as she stared in a stunned manner. In fact, she ran an instant scan of her visuals to make sure they were working properly. All checks came back normal. Suddenly, he threw open his passenger door, causing the teen to be shook out, only to fall on his ass in a not so pleasant manner. The teen barely had time to see the glint of light off Bumblebee's armor as he transformed, optics locked on the distant scene.

"I didn't mean 'throw my ass on the ground' kind've stop, I meant a 'let the kid step out' kind've stop," Sam complained as he slowly got up. The shock of what he had initially spotted was now outweighed by the throbbing of his hip and back. He tried to look briefly at his left cheek, to see if the bruise was already beginning to form.

"Sorry," murmured the Camaro absentmindedly as he readjusted his optics' setting to make sure they weren't damaged, "but I can't believe it. I keep waiting for Twilight Zone music to start playing or something."

Bee's blue optics were still glued on the unbelievable sight before him. With a twitch of his wings, 'Bee decided to try the slap test that humans always use when they think they are in a dream, but Ratchet would be pissed if he broke an optic, so he wasn't going to be hitting his face. Instead, he slapped the armor on his leg, the pain telling him that he wasn't in defrag or something. No, this was actually happening.

Rubbing his sore ass, Sam limped up to stand next to him. Putting a hand up to block out some of the bright sunshine, he watched as the black truck bounced crazily over the scrub covered hills. But that wasn't the amazing or shocking part of it at all! The shiny silver mech that was trying to keep herself in the back of the truck was the amazing part. As the truck caught air over each hill, and began to plummet down towards the Earth again, the silver femme's feet would come out of the bed and only her hands grasping the roll bar tightly kept her linked with the truck. Then the truck's tires would make contact with the ground, causing it to bounce back up slightly, which allowed the agile femme to get her feet back in the bed. Then they'd hit the next hill and do the whole routine again.

"Um, is Ironhide trying to get her off him – or are they actually having fun together?" Sam wondered out loud as he stared in a mixture of horror and amusement. He still couldn't believe either scenario, for femme or not, Ironhide had still been griping about what he wanted to do to 'the little vandal' when he finally caught up with her. Granted, his tune had changed from kicking her tail pipes in, to just turning her red. Yet, despite his threat, the femme was still silver without a hint of a color change.

"I think they're having fun. If he wanted her off totally, he'd just transform and whoop her," Bee answered in a curious tone. She was still totally amazed at the boldness and manipulative-ness of the Decepticon femme. Obviously, Frenzy had chosen to seek out Ironhide. Why she had decided too, Bee had absolutely no clue. If it had been her, Ironhide would've been the last male she'd seek out. He tended to be trigger happy, hot tempered and held a grudge for a long time. All of which made him the least predictable to be around, especially if you'd recently coated his helm in yellow paint. In spite of that, here the femme was, apparently with the black mech already wrapped around her appendage somewhat. It was a bit frightening, actually. If she managed to actually piss the other femme off, she'd be in deep trouble.

The pair went over another hill, catching even more air than the last few times. But this time as Ironhide's tires hit the ground, he locked up his brakes. The femme had anticipated him to continue forward, so this threw her off with a yelp of surprise. Her own momentum forward ended up pulling her backwards, and though she gave a good effort at trying to pull herself back, it was too late. She ended up losing her grip on his roll bars and tumbling head-over-heels onto the ground in front of him, a cloud of dust rising over her like a curtain.

"I hope she's damaged," grumbled the human, still remembering the night he met Frenzy and she had tried to gut him. Yet, this only got him a whap on the head with a metal finger before Bumblebee, transformed, engine squealing impatiently for him to get in so they could go check on the pair. Sam merely grumbled that the evil femme deserved a few dents and jumped in. Of course, by the time the two got to the scene, they weren't 'worried' about Frenzy but Ironhide's sanity.

.

It seemed that Ironhide had transformed and was actually offering his hand to the silver femme. "Thought you said that you could hold on you little vandal?" he chuckled as he taunted her. He raised an optic ridge as he couldn't help but gloat a little. It felt quite pleasant to have made the obnoxious vandal eat her words with a side of dirt as an added bonus.

Grabbing his hand, the silver femme jumped lightly back to her feet. Boldly, she met his optics, not the least bit phased that the mech had finally managed to lose her aft. "I'll give you that one, but you ain't goin' to catch me like that again, you slogger!" she taunted right back. Dusting herself off, she was more than ready to try and prove him wrong on a second go-around. It was actually quite fun challenging this particular Autobot. Unlike con males who'd just tear a rival apart, this one was more than willing to trade insults and meet any challenge. Whether he won or lost. He could be very entertaining to hang around.

Bumblebee and Sam looked at each other in total disbelief. "Um, are you guys okay … have you inhaled any obnoxious fumes lately?" the yellow mech asked in a confused tone, completely serious about what she had just asked.

Yet, it seemed that 'Bee's worry was unnecessary. No one expected to find the two mechs joking about her aft hitting the ground, especially with it being Ironhide as the mech involved. Granted, he didn't seem to be able to call the femme by her name. But the two seemed more than happy to refer to each other as 'little vandal' and 'slogger'. True, Optimus and Ratchet might not agree with the regular use of those nicknames, but if it seemed to work between the Weapons Specialist and the Hacker – Well, they'd probably let them continue it.

The silver femme finally took noticed of their audience; her chrome gleamed brightly in the sunlight, even under the light coating of dirt which she now sported. Her bright optics went from the yellow mech to the human and back.

"That was nothing," she snickered. She'd handled far worse in battle, and this 'game' was quite fun. Frenzy glanced back down at the disgusting human that the yellow femme seemed to cater too, or was she just using it as an excuse to stay away from the big mechs? The silver femme enjoyed the fact that her gaze caused the human to step back slightly. At least the pet showed some proper fear of her superiority.

Glancing back up at Bumblebee, she grinned and then spoke, "So you're hanging out with your pet I see?"

The two Autobots and human suddenly glared at the con femme, not liking her reference towards humans as 'pets'. The Weapons Specialist felt rage build at the perceived insult. After all, it was this human who had saved Prime's life. He was no 'pet'! Stepping back from her, his entire attitude changed in the blink of an optic.

"You're insulting my friend Frenzy, apologize now or else!" said Ironhide in a venomous threat. He couldn't help but activate his cannons, even though everyone there knew he wouldn't dare use them.

Frenzy looked from mech-to-mech, not understanding why they had an issue. After all, humans were mere 'pests' on this pristine planet. And the fact that she'd recognized they had some kind of strange attachment to this beast specifically should've made them pleased – shouldn't it have? But she was really not overly concerned about it. Maybe they just hadn't realized that she'd respected their right to have 'pets'?

"Why should I apologize, if they hadn't been your pets, I would've stomped on the vermin when I redecorated the warehouse. So you otta be happy," replied the femme. By her tone of voice and her dismissive shrug, she really did consider the humans as nothing more than roaches.

Bumblebee moved to stand protectively in front of Sam; she knew that she actually had more 'pull' with the Decepticon femme than the males did, just because of her secret. Regardless of what Frenzy's personal opinions were about organic life forms, she'd have to at least understand and outwardly follow the Autobot doctrine concerning them; that or she would need to find a different group of males to align herself with.

"If you're going to live with us, then you see the humans as our allies – not pets. So apologize!" the yellow mech said as she got up in Frenzy-Jazz's faceplate, her hands now balled into fists.

Ironhide quickly realized the situation was getting a little too tense, and he didn't want Frenzy to think that she had to worry about Bumblebee. Deactivating his cannon, he moved to get between the two smaller mechs and push them apart.

"Stay outt've this Ironhide!" Frenzy ordered. Her optics locked with the other femme's.

By the tone of her voice, Ironhide realized he'd better back off or risk the bitch throwing another temper tantrum, again. He really didn't want to spend another four days cleaning it up. He nodded for Sam to get into his hand so he could protect the boy in case the two small mechs decided to throw punches over the situation; then, wisely, the black mech backed off and let Bumblebee chance the femme's temper. They were the same size, so it was an even match as far as he was concerned.

The two small mechs were locked in a stare down, neither one giving an inch. Bumblebee knew the femme wouldn't give her secret away, but the intensity of Frenzy's optics made her core fluctuate nervously. She knew the rules of the unspoken agreement as well as the silver femme did, but that didn't mean they couldn't duke it out over a disagreement. They just couldn't permanently damage or off line each other over something. Was Frenzy going to try to kick her aft over standing up for Sam? Didn't Frenzy realize she'd have to co-exist peacefully with humans if she aligned herself with the Autobots?

"If you live with us, you've got to respect them, period," Bumblebee flatly stated.

Frenzy found this situation highly entertaining. Here was a femme, who was mortified at being a femme, now standing up for some pathetic flesh creatures as if they were her sparklings. Did these Autobots actually adopt these creatures for some reason? Were they trying to fill the void of not having sparklings? Was this why they allowed these disgusting creatures to leave all sorts of organic residues within them? Did they really consider them some type of pseudo-sparklings or something? Perhaps this was why the Decepticons didn't understand this relationship; they weren't emotional weaklings that needed bond mates and sparklings to feel whole. They were simply satisfied in being themselves and keeping others from encroaching on their turf. Yes, in some ways the Decepticons were truly the stronger culture of the two factions.

"He, he, he… So, you consider these pets to be some kind of sparklings or something similar?" she asked the yellow femme. She than cocked her head to indicate her true interest in the answer. For this would answer quite a few of the things she didn't quite get about the Autobot culture.

Bumblebee took a step back at the question, confused by the way strange way Frenzy had described the interaction between then and their charges. Yet, after a moment of thought, she considered the different cultures that she and Frenzy had been raised up in. The Decepticons were a rather harsh culture, with no life-long bond mates, few true friendships, and pretty much driven by the core value of obtaining some type of personal power. The Autobots tended to be the opposite. So in a way, it did make sense as to why Frenzy would consider the humans to be of little value. They were weaker, had primitive technology and could not help a mech advance in rank or power. She felt kind've sad for Frenzy the more she thought about it. Frenzy had no one other than herself to count on: no true friends and no one to miss her when she finally off-lined. Maybe as the con femme showed her by example what it was like to be a femme – Bumblebee could show her what it meant to really live?

Perhaps… Maybe… It'd be good for both of them?

"Um, ya, sure, I guess you could put it that way," she answered in an estranged tone.

Frenzy slowly looked from Bumblebee to the human in Ironhide's hand and back again. The two Autobots could almost hear the wheels turning in her meta as she began to make the connections that came so naturally to Autobots, but obviously not to cons.

"Ok youngling, I will apologize. Just make sure to train them not to bother me, I do not want organic residues left within me," Frenzy finally stated. With that, she transformed and zoomed out of sight.

"Well, guess that's the most we can expect outt've the little vandal. Don't take it personal or nothing, ok Sam?" Ironhide said as he gently set the teen back down on the ground. He stared after the cloud of dust that was disappearing in the distance. He knew it to be true, but he still found it hard to believe that Frenzy considered humans to be little more than vermin. Yet, he could relate. He had thought the same thing about that chiwawa which Sam loved so much. To him, it was some kind of rodent that needed to be exterminated at the time. So, no worries, she just needed to be told what was considered vermin and what wasn't.

Shifting his feet, he scratched his helm lightly as he thought about it. He figured he'd better inform Ratchet of this problem. Since that mech was her 'guardian', then it should be his job to teach her the Autobot rules. That way she could get mad at the medic, not the rest of them. Hell, since Ratchet got to be the 'lucky' one first, it'd be kind've satisfying to see him have to handle her temper tantrums all by himself.

"No surprise there," muttered Sam in disgust at being compared to vermin. "Well, if she's going to think of me as a pet, she better treat me like one. I want everyone to start carrying around snacks to feed me when I'm good … and a giant hamster wheel."

Ironhide scratched his helm and gave the yellow mech a bemused look; the femme was merely shaking her head, unable to look at her human. Yep, the cons just didn't get it when it came to organic life and sometimes neither did they.


	14. Rescue or Vendetta?

**Rescue or Vendetta?**

"Well, guess we'd better get back to the warehouse. Bitch'll come back when she's damn well ready to," Ironhide grumbled as he watched the dust disappearing over the horizon.

Sam sighed, although he knew how essential the freak was for the mechs' survival, he still got the creepy sensation that she was studying him for future extermination – every time her optics landed on him. In some ways, he kind've hoped she wouldn't come back. Slapping himself on his leg, he forced himself to quite thinking like that. She was creepy, mean, and rather bitchy, but he'd have to sadly admit she was as important as the AllSpark now. No matter how freaky she was.

Turning around as he heard his friends' transformed into their alt modes, Sam walked over to Bumblebee's opened door. A stray thought hit him as he sat down within the living being. These mechs were the poor fuckers that had to fuck the freak. Part of him wanted to laugh, but for the most part sympathy filled him as he relaxed in the yellow mech's seat. Without thinking about it, he patted his arm rest in silent consolation. There's no way in hell Bumblebee could fuck her, even if he was the last Transformer male and her, the last female. It was just never going to happen. Well, at least he hoped so. He just couldn't imagine his guardian lip-locked or whatever mechs did – with HER!!!! It was sickening!

"You ok, Sam?" Bumblebee asked as he fell in behind Ironhide. He hoped that Frenzy's attitude toward him hadn't bothered the boy too much, he didn't want to have Sam stop coming to the base because he couldn't stand the other femme.

"What? Um, ya, I'm cool," Sam stammered a bit as he looked out the window. His heart felt even heavier for his friends. It was his fault that the Allspark was destroyed in the first place. He had been rash in his decision, he hadn't really thought about it, and now it was his fault that his metallic friends had to … fuck that freak.

"You sure?" Bee asked, not quite convinced. He ran his scanners over his companion for answers that Sam's body would given that his mouth wouldn't. It was just a habit he'd gotten… Humans seemed to like to avoid saying things they thought for some reason. Well, on the other hand, mechs did too. Ahem, mechs that weren't exactly mechs that is..

Unfortunately, the small mech didn't even get to inquire on why the boy's heart was beating in such a stressed manner when missiles suddenly exploded around them, cutting Sam off before he could even start to answer. With a slight screech of surprise, Bumblebee was thrown up, spinning lengthwise as he flew through the air. Hitting the ground, he had barely rolled back onto his tires when another missile hit next to him, throwing him up again in a wave of missile fire and dust!

"It's Starscream!" Ironhide screamed as he was thrown the opposite direction. Since he had no passenger, he transformed even as he tumbled through the air. Hitting the ground with a clang, he tumbled a few more times before being able to stop himself almost in a heroic pose as he glared up at the sky, daring it to attack him again. It took his dare, and he had to quickly dart to the left, barely avoided being hit by another screaming missile from the heavens. Scanning the skies in desperation, he grumbled as the Stealth Seeker seemed to disappear.

"Freager ain't gone! Can you transform Bumblebee?!" he yelled to his young companion as he pulled out his cannons, ready to start a game that he knew all too well. A game he'd dared to hope might actually be over, but apparently – wasn't. At least he hadn't hoped for peace that badly. A mech like him liked some good live-action target practice every now-and-then! His optics scanned the skies. All he could hope for was a visual lock – radar was useless against Starscream. Unless he transformed that is…

Bumblebee was upside down and helpless, his tires listlessly turning as his engine crackled in displeasure. That was the least of his problems as he scanned his internals, Sam was still trapped within him his body as limp as rag doll. The hidden femme cringed inside, hoping against hope that Sam was not badly injured.

Grunting in pain, Ironhide clambered over to them, leaving a thick trail of energon behind him in puddles of glowing liquid.

"You functioning?" he asked the mech. He tapped on Bumblebee's spinning tire as he looked him over with the worried expression of a father picking his son up after a bad hit on the football field.

"Ya, uh, just get me on my wheels," Bumblebee replied in a tense voice as he struggled to remain calm. He could only pray that he wasn't damaged enough that anyone would have to repair his chassis or anything under it. Sam was stirring now, and holding his head with his hands. The boy's vitals looked good. So now Bee could worry a bit about her own damage.

Grunting, the black mech started to put his free arm under the car, only to realize that he didn't have it anymore.

"Shit, the bastard's blow my right arm off!" he griped as he watched the energon pool down his side for a moment. With a sigh, he turned around and used his other arm to push Bumblebee over, taking his gun off the sky for the briefest of moments.

Just at that instant, another missile came at them.

Bumblebee spun his tires in desperation, getting out of the way just in time. Regrettably, Ironhide wasn't that lucky. The missile was locked on him and hit his legs square on. His optics barely had time to widen, before an echo of agony escaped his vocal processors while he was catapulted over the fleeing Bumblebee, landing in a heap of twisted and smoking metal in front of him. The blood splattered Sam merely screamed in horror as Bumblebee swerved, opened his door and flung the boy out. Tumbling into the barely functioning Ironhide, Sam crawled to his feet using Ironhide's twisted chest armor to help him up. The boy merely stood there a moment, panting as he used the sleeve of his jacket to try and remove some blood that was pooling from a shallow wound on his forehead. The boy then looked back in the direction 'Bee had tumbled, merely to see the youngling's optics widen with horror as he stared at his caretaker.

"Ironhide?" the yellow mech barely whispered in a breathy way as he tumbled forward. For a moment, the femme-in-disguise kneeled before the injured mech, almost too afraid to touch him while his whole body shook with grief. To the young mech's viewpoint, there was little left of the mech. His legs were a scrambled mess of wires and energon, his shoulder ended in a stump, and his whole body seemed to be twitching like a dying animal. Despite that, he managed to throw a look to 'Bee, both of them knowing how grim the situation was. Despite that, the Camaro quickly stood up over his elder in order to protect him.

"Sam, you gotta run," croaked the older mech as he took his gaze away from 'Bee, struggling to aim his remaining arm. His canons activating as the mech readied himself to fight even as his life fluids pooled on the ground beneath him.

"No, Ironhide, I can't!" Sam said as he stumbled a little closer, his hand shaking wearily before he placed a hand cautiously on the elder mech's armor.

"He's coming around!" Bumblebee yelled as the muffled roar of jet engines shook the ground. Raising his gun, the small Autobot prepared to stand his ground. He would protect his commanding officer and his caretaker. Fate was a cruel mistress. Bee felt in her very spark that today was their day to off line. They had no chance against Starscream with Ironhide down! Bee ground her dental plates together as the muffled roar of stealth engines banked around them. Suddenly, he began to stumble backwards, his chassis jerking as multiple rounds hit him. Sparks flew as his chest armor began to be ripped apart by the sheer volume of the volley.

"Looks like you pathetic Autobots will finally meet your maker," Starscream's snarl could be heard over the rapid fired rounds of his gun, living up to his name nicely. Transforming in a blur, he leapt at Ironhide and kicked him hard before he could even fire. Stomping down on the damaged Autobot's remaining arm; he brutally disconnected it from his chassis with a splash of energon, and tossed it at the human that was trying to scamper away like a roach from a shoe.

Finished with Ironhide and not the least bit concerned about some sobbing flesh creature, Starscream stormed towards the heavily damaged Bumblebee. His optics narrowed as he enjoyed the fact of the mech stumbling back away from him in fear. Oh, he loved the taste of fear… Licking his lips he savored it…

"Revenge is such sweet energon, don't you think?" he gloated as he fired yet another missile at the yellow mech. A cackle of glee couldn't help but escape the attacker as he watched the helpless mech be thrown high into the air by the force of the explosion. Autobots flying helplessly through the air, leaving streamers of energon trailing behind them – was like the hand stroke of a master painter to a Decepticon. Beautiful was such a poor description for it..

Sam allowed a frightened whimper to escape him as he crawled to a large boulder and tried to hide himself behind it. His friends were going to die. He was going to die. His body couldn't help but shiver at the thought as he listened to metallic feet come his way, his mind doubting it was Bumblebee.

"Yep, Sweeter than candy I do agree! He, he, he!" A crazed voice agreed while accompanied by hysterical giggles. The fictional Joker had nothing on the hair-raising spectacle that was the insane silver femme streaking through the air!

The fear now suddenly drowned in surprise. The human couldn't help but peak from behind his hiding place in order to witness what was happening. Jazz-Frenzy had just jumped from the top of one of the surrounding hills in vehicle mode, transformed, and landed on the Seeker's back. Once she was secure, the femme locked herself into place with her electromagnet arm and proceeded to try and rip him apart with her bare hands – or grapple-things. Whichever it was, she was sure giving it her all.

Starscream whirled around as he tried to dislodge the silver mech from his back. When that didn't work, he flung himself towards the ground, hoping to smash the little freager.

"Ah, little Scream doesn't want to dance? A fucking pity, he, he, he," Jazz-Frenzy snickered as she danced along Starscream's chassis, firing rounds as she went.

"Jazz get out of here!" Ironhide weakly ordered, his strength fading fast.

"Fuck you Ironhide, bastard's gotta pay, he, he, he," Jazz-Frenzy smirked as she barely avoided another round of rolling by the Decepticon.

Unfortunately, the little disagreement was enough of a distraction for Starscream to grab one of her legs then. He then proceeded to throw her off him as hard as he could. The small femme landed into the grounded like a jet-liner crashing into the earth, throwing dirt where it may. A dark chuckle couldn't help but escape the flier as he rose to his feet like a beast from the grave, dirt falling off his shoulders. He then turned in the direction he had thrown the silver mech.

"So they put you back together just for me to rip you apart – how sweet of 'ol Ratchet," the flier said in a mocking manner, as if this was nothing more than a simple game. He allowed his shadow to cast over the grounded femme, a gleam in his eyes. He wanted to make sure he ripped that visor off before he took this mech's life; he wanted to see that fear reflected in his optics. He wanted to taste power. Power over another mech's very existence, but first he'd stomp on the mech's chest. If he was lucky, he might be able to crack the spark chamber and the mech would die a slow, horrible death.

Yet, before the flier could even bring down his foot, he was suddenly thrown to the ground as a big red and blue mech hit him. A hail of dirt and rocks jumped into the air, as the two mechs rolled across the ground like a pair of drunken collaged students in a brawl. Luckily for Optimus, he was able to gather the upper hand. Soon he had his gun aimed at Starscream's cranial.

"Don't move, Starscream," said Optimus, trying to keep his finger still. Inside he was shaking; they had been that close to losing their only femme. It was enough to shake up anyone's sensory fibers.

Outnumbered, Starscream was still for a moment, but he was quick to notice the shaking of commander's hands. Taking the show of weakness for all it was worth, he thrust his fist up into Prime's face. Then, he rolled over, the blue mech falling away as he transformed and threw on his afterburners in order to make his escape. Optimus barely had time, while holding his own face plate, to grab the silver mech in time as she tried to lock her magnet back on the Seeker in order to continue her offensive. He tossed the femme at Ratchet as that mech was transforming.

Ratchet stood strong like an old stone, stopping Frenzy before she could transform and go after Starscream again. She struggled, of course, focused entirely on getting her vengeance on the Decepticon. But the green mech had too strong of a grip for her to break, and she didn't dare hit him with machine gun fist, although she briefly considered it.

"Stop Frenzy! He's gone! Our friends are safe!" Ratchet yelled at her, even as he shook her to get her senses back. He hadn't thought the con femme was the type to be heroic and save their friends, but she had proven him wrong it seemed. Yet her battle-lust seemed to still be overwhelming her logic circuits. She couldn't risk herself by going after the con alone; it could actually be a trap for the femme. Granted, the cons probably didn't know she was a femme yet, but they soon would if she took any further action.

"Let me go Ratchet, the bastard needs to get what he freagin' deserves!" Frenzy shrieked as she clawed at his vise-like grip. The pain and rage of Rumble's senseless deactivation was bright in her meta. She had to destroy the killer; tear him apart piece-by-piece; feel his pulsating spark as she freed it from his worthless chassis….

The femme was almost free from him, the rage giving her steam, but the medic held firm. He couldn't let her go alone, and he wasn't fast enough to join the chase. They had to let Starscream get away this time, they just couldn't risk Frenzy. But trying to hold her back was like holding a wild cat, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep his grip on the enraged femme.

Then … she had almost broken free, but Optimus grabbed the arm she was using to hit Ratchet in her attempts to break free, his superior strength not even giving Frenzy a little bit of wiggle room. The leader quickly nodded at the battered medic to let her go and check on their comrades; he would deal with this angry pussy cat.

Amazingly, the enraged femme had no hesitation about scratching, clawing and kicking at Prime either. Screaming for them to let her go after Starscream as she twisted and turned in Prime's grasp. She didn't even seem to hear his commands to 'calm down'. Soon growing aggravated with the amount of dents she was leaving, the commander spun the smaller femme and grabbed her other arm, which was shortly followed with him wrapping his arms around her. Picking her legs up off the ground, he then ended up tucking her under an arm like a bale of hay as he marched towards Ironhide, her legs still kicked uselessly against his armored side.

As Ratchet did a brief check on the critical condition of Ironhide, he was still watching Frenzy struggle against Prime's grip out of the corner of his optic. It amazed him the sheer amount of energy and battle-lust that the femme had. She really didn't care who she went up against, did she?

Optimus watched Ratchet with a concerned expression as he continued to hold onto the enraged femme. So she saved the two Autobots? Now that surprised the hell outt've him! Not something he'd ever expect Frenzy to do.

"Stop that," he ordered Frenzy as the enraged femme bit into his arm like a viper. He swiftly shifted the way he was holding her, now trying to keep her jaws away from any sensitive joints as well.

"So, why's she so pissed off now? They're safe," he asked Ratchet, not looking up from his work.

At this, the femme's cursing intensified. She had switched to Cybertronian and began to berate them both for being pathetic Autobots for allowing their enemies to escape. Shifting her in his grip, Prime got his other hand over her mouth. She promptly bit him, her dental plates leaving a rather impressive imprint within his metal alloy skin.

"Now you come out of your battle-lust now. That's an order!" He demanded as he continued to shake her like a naughty puppy. He'd never had an Autobot soldier get this riled up after a battle. But apparently this must be exactly why Frenzy earned her name. Mumbling to himself, he wondered how in Primus' name he was going to keep this freak safe? She was more than ready to charge off alone after an opponent without a second thought as to the ramifications.

Realizing that Starscream was now far out of her grasp, Frenzy wilted. She would get him sooner or later and make him pay for what he'd done, regardless of what the Autobots said about it. Slowly, her meta settled back into the deadly calm that she'd developed when she had to continue working with Starscream in the cons ranks. She'd just wait until he showed up again; he didn't have Megatron around to protect his aft anymore. She'd be ready and waiting for their next meeting, like a snake in the grass.

When she finally quit struggling, Optimus set her back down on her feet again, but he made sure to keep a grip on one of her wrists.

"You are not to go after cons alone. Do you understand me?" he stated as he locked optics with her. Although her desire to off line cons for attacking Autobots was indeed honorable, he couldn't chance the last femme getting kidnapped or damaged beyond repair. Cocking his head, he intently studied the femme. This was the first time he'd actually gotten more than just a fleeting glimpse of her. Her optics were bright with intensity, as if her meta was planning something. What it was, he couldn't fathom, but he guessed that he should congratulate her for saving his friends. Perhaps it would serve to smooth out their previous misunderstanding?

"And Frenzy?" he added, his tone softer, "Thanks for protecting our companions."

Frenzy snorted sentiments and stomped towards Bumblebee, who was now trying to avoid Ratchet's exam. The yellow femme had her arms crossed protectively over the damage to her chest armor. The blue glow emanating from between her tightly gripped arms told the sharp-optic'd hacker that her spark chamber had been exposed.

Frenzy didn't want the Autobots to know that the pathetic yellow mech was a femme, anymore than Bumblebee did. But for an entirely very different reason: Frenzy didn't want to 'share' the mechs. To share them – meant to share her power over them! For a con femme – there was no way she'd do that willingly with an inferior femme.. Strength and cunning meant everything, Bee had neither. Bee didn't deserve the femme spark she had within her. Of that much, they both would've probably agreed. Once again – for far different reasons…

Roughly pushing Ratchet out of her way, she didn't even blink as he fell; she stood over the shuddering femme like a titan and proclaiming her power wordlessly over the situation.

"Frenzy! What the hell are you doing?!" Optimus demanded to know as he helped the medic back to his feet. "I don't care if you have an issue with Bumblebee right now; he needs to be looked over by Ratchet. Your childishness can wait till later."

"You freagers can take care of the slogger, I'll take care of the youngling," Frenzy simply replied as she stepped closer to the trembling femme, putting a hand on her shoulder armor and meeting her optics.

"Ratchet's the medic and _you_ don't give the orders," Optimus replied with a tint of anger as he marched towards the silver femme. She was frustrating him with her behavior. Her illogical behavior! And the mech was being pushed far beyond his patience – for the first time in a millennia!

Without even a word in reply to the powerful Autobot, Frenzy grabbed the heavily damaged Bumblebee and tossed her over her shoulder with a resounding clang. Now that her open chest was hidden, the yellow femme relaxed and hung limply. Not really knowing if it was a good thing to have Frenzy repair her or not, but anything was better than Ratchet. He would see her exposed spark and know her secret. She had never expected Frenzy to go this far in keeping her 'word' about keeping Bee's secret, but she silently thanked the femme for apparently doing so.

With the yellow mech hanging limply over her shoulder armor, Frenzy turned and faced Prime. "I'm as good at deconstruction and construction as he is. Let HIM deal with the Ironhide's greater damage. I'll deal with this little fragger!" she snapped, her optics daring the big mech to argue. She truly feared no one! Not Megatron – Not Prime. And the hacker wasn't about to change…

Optimus and Ratchet looked at each other in confusion. Frenzy was actually demanding to help them repair an Autobot?! Was she glitched!? And then there was Bumblebee, hanging there limply – not even TRYING to run!?! Both things were unbelievable, and well deserving of Twilight Zone theme music.

Ratchet shook his head, his meta starting to hurt. He'd think about it later. Right now, he had a very critical patient to tend to. "Load what's left of him in me," he ordered, forgetting the femme as he transformed and opened his back doors.

Still giving Frenzy a bemused stare, Optimus slowly picked up what was left of Ironhide and began to gently place him into Ratchet.

"Does this mean I'm going to be put together with human parts?" Ironhide grumbled as he was loaded.

Frenzy snorted at this. "What's your problem with it? Not 'good enough' for a freagin' Autobot?" she snickered as she cocked her helm. Her tone insinuated that she had taken his comment as a personal insult.

"He didn't mean it as an insult," Optimus replied to her as he grabbed the remnants of the black mech's limbs and tossed them in with him. Shutting Ratchet's doors with a bang, he turned and glared at the femme.

She shrugged; glancing down as the boy came limping up to her. These pets were forever going to get under her peds! Did he not see that she was balancing a femme of equal size to her?!? Frenzy considered kicking him out of her way, but she stopped herself. Since the freagin' Autobots considered them pseudosparklings – that wouldn't be a strategically sound action.

"Thanks Frenzy," Sam said to her as he hesitantly met her harsh optics.

Pointedly ignoring the thank you, she glanced back up at Optimus and cocked her head. "So when are you going to transform? Or do I have to walk all the way back with this piece of slag weighing me down?" she smirked.

Realizing that the femme was actually giving him an order, Prime considered calling her on it, but glancing at Bumblebee hanging limply over her shoulder armor, he thought better of it. Perhaps having a 'medic' that Bee was too afraid to run from would end up being a good thing. He was sure tired of trying to catch the youngling for Ratchet. With a sigh of resignation, he transformed, opened his door for Sam, and felt Frenzy climb up, plopping herself on his flat hitch as she leaned her back armor against his cab.

Shifting Bumblebee, she forced the femme to lie against her. Her helm resting on her silver shoulder as the femme buried her face and chest against her smooth armor. Wrapping her arms around the yellow femme, she pretended to be holding the 'limp' youngling tightly to her for safety on the trip home, but in actuality she was hiding the glow of the open spark chamber. The femme's clear containment unit pressed safely against her hood.

Frenzy enjoyed the pulse of the panicked femme's spark against her armor. It was amazing the strange power she had over the weaker femme. The femme was so terrified that she'd be found out, that she'd do anything Frenzy asked.

"Thank you," Bumblebee whispered, her young male voice having a pleading edge to it. Slowly, Bumblebee relaxed against the other femme. Her spark truly terrified to be this exposed, to be this close to another spark, but Frenzy was another femme so all was safe and sound. She wasn't a male that would take advantage of her. Frenzy wanted the males to herself, so therefore she was doing this to 'help' Bee keep her secret. Bee didn't know exactly how she felt about that, but at least she was happy to know that it'd be a femme's fingers working so near her spark – not a mech's.


	15. Harsh Truths

**Harsh Truths**

Frenzy-Jazz strode briskly into the warehouse and made a bee-line straight for Bumblebee's room. Her peds hit the floor heavily since she carried Bee's weight as well as her own. Hearing the clang of those very steps, Mikaela came around the corner drinking a shake. Not seeing what she had expected, she coughed in shock as she looked up in fear at the silver femme coming towards her. Backing up, she stared in horror at the yellow mech hanging limply over the femme's shoulder. Damage obvious along his chassis. Had they gotten into a fight or something?!? What had happened?!?

"Is… Is Bumblebee ok?" she stammered, half-afraid to even say anything to the Jazz look-a-like. The last time she'd seen the femme, Frenzy had threatened both her and Sam and cackled in glee as they'd scampered off. But she couldn't help running up to the femme, her hand outstretched to touch the brave scout she so loved.

"I-I'm going to be – fine," Bumblebee answered just as the femme carrying her glared down. His blue optics briefly met Mikaela's eyes as he looked up rather weakly. His voice not highly convincing even as he spoke those words…

"Frenzy … saved ... us," the yellow femme added in a slightly embarrassed tone, more as if an afterthought than something she wanted to admit. Her door wings drooped as she obediently allowed herself to be hauled where ever Frenzy decided they should go.

Mikaela's eyes couldn't get much bigger and 'Bee was still slightly surprised that there was any liquid left in that cup with the way the female was slowly spilling it. "You-you did?" she stammered in disbelief, her eyes shifting to the silver femme. "Wow … that's surprising." Her tone was slightly sarcastic as she added that. Though it shouldn't have surprised the silver femme that the humans wouldn't be as blindly believing what they saw – considering how much energy she had once spent trying to kill the little fleshies.

Frenzy stopped at the slight insult and for a moment considered if she could get away with flicking the human. It would be rather amusing to watch the organic screaming as she flew helplessly through the air. But, then again, the female did have some technical knowledge and could therefore might be useful in fetching the supplies she would need. This would keep the mechs out of her business, and since the humans had no idea what the difference between mech and femme sparks was – Bee's little secret would never be noticed.

So instead of giving the stupid human a proper retort to her insult, Frenzy flat out ignored it. "Come with me. I need – assistance," the grey femme ordered as she resumed her course towards Bumblebee's quarters. She didn't even bother to look back and see if the girl was following. She had Bumblebee, Mikaela had some weird attachment to the pathetic femme – thus, she would follow her order. Frenzy had no doubt of that..

Bee glanced up in surprise, meeting Mikaela's eyes as the girl followed along like a confused puppy. The yellow femme was still nervous about anyone other than Frenzy seeing her exposed spark, not that she was thrilled over that prospect. So why had the silver femme ordered the girl to help them? But, just as she was fixing to ask, a clatter of noise along with Ironhide's cussing could be heard echoing down the halls.

Mikaela stopped in her tracks and turned around in surprise as the other three mechs came in. Optimus and Ratchet were carrying in the pieces of Ironhide, who was still cussing about the indignation of being repaired with human parts.

"What happened?" she asked Sam as she ran up to him, her hands quickly daring to look at his wounds as if he were an injured child.

"We were ambushed by Starscream. Frenzy came back and distracted him long enough for Prime and Ratchet to get there," he cried as he pulled his girlfriend into a big hug. "But I could have imagined the whole thing, I did hit my head."

"Speaking of Frenzy, where's she gone off to with Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked as he gently laid Ironhide's torso on the repair table in the med bay.

Mikaela pointed towards Bee's room.

"She went in there... Oh, I forgot, I'm supposed to help her!" she exclaimed as she pulled away from Sam and ran towards the room, her shoes clapping happily against the flooring.

"Why'd she go in there?" Optimus mused as he set down Ironhide's limbs.

"I'll find out," Ratchet stated as he marched down the hall, "And make sure that Ironhide doesn't do his disappearing routine on me again!" he yelled back over his shoulder.

"Smart ass, like I could move," Ironhide grumbled as he lay helpless on the table.

----

"What are you doing?!" Ratchet demanded to know as he entered the room right on Frenzy's heels.

She still had Bumblebee slung over her shoulder, for she figured there might be an issue. No need to put her down and risk discovery. Turning, she almost stepped on Mikaela as she moved towards Ratchet.

"Damn it, stay out from under my feet flesh creature!" she muttered under her breath. Then she glared up at Ratchet, "You only have the one table, and I'm NOT going to sit on the floor while I repair this little freager. So you do your thing and I'll do mine! Just don't bother me."

Ratchet put his hands on his hips. Her argument made sense; he just didn't like her tone, there seemed to be something more to this than she was letting on.

"I'm the medic," he finally replied, "not you."

Frenzy snickered, "I've heard how fast your patients run when you show up." She shifted Bumblebee's weight slightly, re-enforcing the fact that the yellow mech was not running. "Perhaps it's because you are too 'easy' on them? Hmmmm? A little Decepticon no-nonsense repair is more their cup of oil?"

The green mech sized up the situation. With Bee's youth it might be more the fact of the medic's sex than their repair style.

"We shall see, Frenzy. It shall be very interesting to see how long you keep him still, before Optimus' assistance is required," he purred in a tone that showed how pleased he would be when he heard that expected call along with the sounds of yellow mech peds as they ran in the other direction.

Frenzy snorted as she patted Bee's rump. "As long as you mechs stay out of my way, the repair will go so quickly as to not give him time to run," she snickered. And she meant every word of that particular boast.

With a raised optic ridge at her boast, Ratchet turned and left the room, sure that he'd have to help catch the little freager before it was all over.

Bumblebee relaxed a bit as the mech disappeared, that is until she remembered what Frenzy had said to Mikaela.

"Don't insult my human friends," she said to the silver femme as Frenzy rolled her off of her shoulder. With a thud, her aft hit her berth as Frenzy turned her back to the shut the door. With the hiss of a shutting and locking door, Bumblebee lowered her arms. Her clear spark containment unit was now exposed through her shredded chest armor.

Frenzy glanced down at the human, before turning her attention about the other femme. "No insult was meant, he, he," Frenzy said, her normal snickering back in her tone.

Mikaela didn't really notice what the silver femme said, she was spellbound by the swirling, glowing blueness of Bumblebee's exposed spark. Walking towards her friend, she gently touched one of his legs that were hanging down. "I don't want to get to personal 'Bee, but I have to ask: is that your soul?" Mikaela said simply.

Frenzy snorted in disgust at the stupidity of the question. Encircling the human with her digits, she lifted her off the floor as if she were a pet rat or some other kind of beast. "Lie down 'Bee so we can get that useless armor off of you, he, he," the older femme ordered before she set the human down on top of the berth next to the shifting yellow mech; she then locked her harsh optics on the girl. "That's our spark. We all have one inside. It's much more than a, he, he, he, pathetic human soul."

Ignoring the insult, Mikaela climbed around 'Bee as he lay down. Getting up on his arm, she stared into his exposed chest. Underneath his shredded armor plating was what appeared to a clear box. Inside the box was a plasma sphere with tendrils of blue and white energy swirling inside. "Wow, you're beautiful Bumblebee," she said in soft amazement.

"Thank you," Bee answered. Glancing up at Frenzy, she realized why the femme had enlisted a human's help. The humans didn't know the difference between femme and mech sparks. It was safe for them to see her spark.

"We must pry the destroyed armor off. Then, I need you to take Optimus to a junkyard and find a matching hood so that I can repair this," Frenzy informed her. Subsequently, she met Bee's optics, her normal half-crazed grin on her face. "He, he, now you'll actually be part of this, he, he, pitiful planet."

Ignoring the femme's standard insult, Mikaela smiled in relief. If anyone knew her way around automotive parts – it was her. So, as Frenzy slowly peeled and cut the rest of the destroyed metal off, she began to measure what she needed to get. After a while, Frenzy had finished the main deconstruction.

"I'll be back in about two hours," Mikaela told Bumblebee as she hopped off the berth and headed out the door, her flip-flops once more clapping against the hard floor. "I might have to grab some different shoes though."

"That's why you wanted Michaela's help," said the yellow femme, shaking her head like a disapproving mother, "To lazy to go get them yourself?"

"He, he, you're pretty smart for an Autobot!" Frenzy snickered as she carefully piled the scrap. She sorted the pieces according to which would be easiest to melt down for the next stage of the repair.

"So how'r you gonna turn a hood into proper armor?" Bee asked as she sat up. It was highly disconcerting to have her spark so exposed, even though Frenzy was a femme. Nervously, she glanced at the closed door. As exposed as she was, it wouldn't take but a quick glance for one of the mechs to realize what she'd been hiding.

"Lie back down you idiot!" Frenzy growled as she glanced up from her sorting. "I will coat the hood with your old Cybertronian alloy – after I melt it."

"Oh," Bumblebee said. That could take some time, and she'd be spark exposed for all of it! A slight flavor of fear filled her, for a moment. The likability of her being found was far too high. It was one thing to disappear for a day, but if she didn't show up in two, Ratchet would demand to see her repairs … and … and what then? Bumblebee couldn't help it as a small shudder of fear escaped her.

"Quite shaking you weakling!" Frenzy smirked as she unrolled a heavy black tarp. Folding it twice, she then rolled it up. Laying it on the side farthest from her, she then duct taped the edge to Bee's remaining armor, mumbling to herself as she did so.

Relaxing a bit, now that she knew her spark would be hidden, Bee found herself studying the preoccupied femme. Why had Frenzy really gone after Starscream? She doubted it was to save them. Though, perhaps the rule of femmes had applied? Maybe that's what had forced her to react? But the femme had wanted to go after Starscream, which wasn't part of the rules. She'd shown true hatred for the Decepticon Second-in-Command. A deeper hatred and rage than even the Autobots had for him. The real question her, though, was why?

Bumblebee's curiosity peaked, and even though she truly didn't like Frenzy much, she wanted to understand her.

"Frenzy, can I ask you something?" Bumblebee asked.

Frenzy glanced up as she slid her digits into Bee's open chest. The yellow femme shifting uncomfortably as those digits danced along her spark's containment unit. Waves of unwanted sensory stimuli washed over her networks as Frenzy probed the chest cavity, searching for every little bit of debris and carefully removing it.

"He, he, ask away. As long as you, he, he, don't freagin' move!" Frenzy smirked.

Fighting down her urge to bolt from the invasive touch of the other femme, Bee nodded. Gulping her natural fear down, she reminded herself over-and-over again that it was a femme touching her. A femme who wanted all the mechs to herself, so she'd protect her secret. But 'Bee couldn't deny the strange sensations, even as nausea sought to overwhelm her, she had to admit that those touches felt – good.

"You didn't go after Starscream to help us, did you?" Bumblebee stammered as she bit back the urge to moan.

The silver femme grinned, she knew the sensations she must be causing the Autobot femme. But while Frenzy had done these things with her twin, Rumble, the yellow femme had had no one to sensory play with. Bumblebee was inexperienced and uneducated in so many ways. Sliding her digit along the femme's clear containment field, Frenzy smirked as she watched Bee try to mask her reaction, the yellow femme's fingers nearly digging into the berth. The damned femme was such a scaredy cat! But no, she would admit that she hadn't gone after Starscream to help anyone … except herself. It was a matter of revenge.

"He, he, nope," the 'Con femme snickered, seeing no reason to lie.

Bee wiggled, she was getting more-and-more uncomfortable with the sensations that Frenzy was causing. Curling her fingers around the edges of the berth, she forced herself to remain still. Last thing she needed to do was to follow her instincts and bolt out of the room. Then the mechs would have to catch her, and they'd see … see … her shame.

"So why?" she asked, trying to keep her meta on anything but the touches.

Frenzy drummed her digits very, very lightly on the femme's containment unit. She grinned as she watched the spark pulse in both excitement and fear at her touch. This control she had over the weaker femme made her feel almost 'high'. Yes, that emotion those humans described in their websites concerning drugs would be a proper description for it, and it was a good feeling to have indeed.

Then Frenzy frowned. Apparently, it'd been obvious that she hadn't attacked Starscream to obey the rules of the femmes, but Bumblebee was soft; she didn't know what being femme was really like. Narrowing her optics, Frenzy tore them from the swirling spark and locked them with Bee's optics, her optics speaking horrors before she even began to speak.

"Revenge, Bee. Revenge for a life of horror you can't even freagin' imagine!" she growled in a low voice.

Shocked by the femme's sudden change, Bee shivered as she felt those digits on her containment unit, stroking it as if purposely trying to entice a reaction.

"Tell me," the Autobot femme whispered. She hoped that the femme would start talking and remove her digits from her open chest. She wanted her spark hidden again. Hidden from the mechs and hidden from the wonderful – yet terrifying – impulses that the other femme was causing. She didn't want those things, was that too hard to understand? … At least she was fairly sure she didn't want it. After all, how can you miss something you've never had?

But Frenzy didn't remove her digits. In fact, as she began to tell the horrors she had seen; the horrors she had lived through. During this time, she continued to stroke the containment field more firmly. Her optics getting a far away gleam in them as the glowing spark beneath her fingers became the beautiful spark that had once been her twin. The only being she had ever loved.

Nausea and blackness filled Bee's core as the true horror of Decepticon femme life filled her meta. The agonizing clearness of Frenzy's recollections of the torture, slavery, subordination and deaths of the con femmes, filled her with a deep rage that she'd never truly felt. She understood now why multitudes of con femmes had chosen death over life; had chosen suicide over the continuation of the torment that was their lives...

Yet, that hatred always seemed to be drowned out by those DAMN fingers; they were becoming even more invasive. Yet, despite how 'interesting' this feeling was, 'Bee found herself even more disgusted by mechs. Here Decepticon femmes had never experienced pleasure even once in their lives under the hands of a mech. They were just brutally raped, with no concern for their emotions. The only time they felt pleasure was when they bonded with each other. The only time they could even catch a brief glimpse of happiness was in another femme's arms. Part of 'Bee was glad she was hidden.

"I'm sorry Frenzy. I'm so, so sorry," Bee whispered. Unable to continue masking her reaction to the femme's touch, she trembled into the touch. "You're so strong. I feel kind of weak compared to you."

Frenzy peeled her mesmerized optics from the blue glow. The faraway look was swiftly replaced by her normal cold harshness. "I need no pity from you," Frenzy gruffly replied. "But you are weak. Pathetically weak," she growled as she pulled her hands out of Bee.

A feeling to punch the femme or become closer conflicted for a moment in 'Bee's cranial unit. In the end, she decided against the punch thing; that was more a mech trait anyway. Not that she wasn't denying that she acted like a young mech from time to time. After all, she had been practically raised by a group of mechs. But, she also knew she could trust the femme, because she was in a strange way - like her … she had this thing in her chest. But, perhaps instead of always being engrossed by this thing in her chest, she could accept some of those views. Maybe, just maybe, Bee could help Frenzy too and fill the void of Rumble.

Sitting up, she curled her fingers around Frenzy's. With both fear and excitement in her optics, Bee forced Frenzy to touch her exposed spark, a shiver running though her.

"Frenzy..." Bumblebee whispered. "I know I'm not like ... Rumble, but …" she stammered, not knowing how to offer, how to ask. She was strangely drawn to this freaky femme now, drawn to her because she now understood her to a point. The Decepticon had lost so much in her life because of mechs. Yet, here she was, risking her very life by mating with them. She was a strong femme to say the least, and with a tragic life to boot. She had lived a life without even a true friend. Perhaps, Bee could be her friend? Her second sister?

Frenzy cocked her helm, studying the yellow femme. Letting her digits get drawn back into the femme's chest, she enjoyed the warmth of the pulsating spark under them. It was a spark that didn't want anything more than simple enjoyment, yet it pulsed like a frightened bird under her touch. Bumblebee's optics silently pleaded with her to teach her what it was to be a femme and the pleasure in it.

"You can never replace Rumble," she told the weak femme in a harsh whisper, harshly pulling her hand away. "You are far too weak and pathetic to even compare to her. You're a femme … afraid of her own spark."

Bee drew back slight as if she had just been slapped, a sadness quickly dripping into her very spark as her door wings drooped.

"I-I know. I'm pathetic compared to-o Rumble, aren't I? But … I don't want to be left alone either," the younger femme offered. "Do you want to stay alone? I-I mean not that you'll be short of mechs or anything. But, uh… without another femme to talk to or something?"

The Autobot femme was offering to become hers in this way? Frenzy mused as she caressed the glowing spark within the shivering femme. She could see the terror and excitement in the yellow one's optics, she mused as she had forced her hand back inside her. Perhaps, a part of Bumblebee believed that if she filled the slot that Rumble had once filled, that she'd protect her secret even more diligently? Personally, Frenzy didn't really care. It had been so long since she'd had the sweet release that only another femme spark could give her; she would take the femme up on her offer.

Granted, she'd have to wait until after she delivered the sparklings to do so. But 'playing' with Bee in between pregnancies would be a safe alternative to playing with the mechs. Frenzy snorted in her meta as she decided how she'd explain it to Ratchet. She'd just say that the youngling's spark was still immature. Thus, she had no fear of unwanted pregnancies. Yes, 'he' was safe to play around with.

Putting a hand behind Bee's helm, she brought those terrified lips to hers. Pressing her metal-skinned lips tightly to Bee's, she softly stroked her glossa over her lips trying to taste the younger femme's very trembles. Then, taking her hand out of Bee's chest, she wrapped it around her as she moved to stand between the other femme's legs. She pulled the yellow femme towards her tightly, feeling Bumblebee hesitantly slide her arms around. Then, the femme parted her lips to allow her entrance, accepting an un-written contract between them. Giving herself completely to her….

For a few minutes they stayed like this, Bee slowly relaxing into her first kiss, learning and mimicking Frenzy's actions. Her terror of the intimacy slowly fading as her excitement increased. Her spark pulsated wildly against the silver femme's smooth armor, excitement filling every fiber optic line in her networks. But, as if in a mocking manner, Frenzy pulled away from her, a strange calmness in those usually harsh optics.

"We wait until afterward, he, he," Frenzy whispered with a snicker. Running a tip of a digit down the side of Bee's helm and tracing it down to her lips, Frenzy's optics gleamed. "You are mine now femme, he, he, and I do not share willingly."

For a moment, those blue optics wavered, but quickly stilled. She had no problem with that. Not like she wanted to be touched by a mech anyway, so it was easy to say, that the yellow femme nodded her head without a second thought.

Grinning, the silver femme slid her digits over the glowing spark one last time. Then, she slowly unrolled the tarp and began to conceal what was now hers. Whipping the duct tape out, she began taping the tarp in place.

"So you managed to keep him still?" Ratchet's voice asked as he opened the door and entered. His optic ridges went up in amusement as the yellow mech began to fidget nervously. But amazingly, the young mech still kept his tail pipes glued to the berth as the Decepticon put another strip of duct tape on the bottom edge of the tarp.

Glancing from Frenzy to Ratchet and back, Bumblebee trembled as unease washed over her. She hated being this close to Ratchet when she was damaged, and now the glow of her spark was barely concealed beneath the thick tarp. The only thing that kept her still was the deadly calm glare of Frenzy's optics as they briefly locked with hers. The femme now considered Bee's spark her property and wouldn't 'share'. But even with that security, Bee couldn't stop her hydraulic pressure from rising with her anxiety.

Frenzy finished her last strip. Turning around, she smirked victoriously at Ratchet. "He, he, can't stand that a mere femme can keep his aft planted?" she snickered, "Ah, the superiority of the female sex is thus, he, he, he, exposed!"

Ratchet cocked his head and studied the pair as Bee slid down and stood behind the femme, his optics locked to the ground.

"Threatened you, did she?" Ratchet asked him, trying not to grin with the question.

Bumblebee gulped as he fidgeted. With an almost shameful expression, he nodded to Ratchet's question.

The green mech chuckled, "perhaps I shall try that technique next time."

This only made the yellow mech squeak in fright, his standard urge to flee became obvious again - Which only served to make the medic grin even more as he considered the new 'method', but Frenzy interrupted his contemplations. She roughly grabbed the yellow mech's hand and dragged him by Ratchet.

"He's MY patient now, get your own!" Frenzy snarled, but then she paused and glanced up at the taller medic. "He, he, and he KNOWS that it's pointless to try and flee from me – unlike you," she gloated. "Freager can't even, he, he, catch ME when ordered." She shot Bumblebee a conniving wink as she pointed that out. Knowing without a doubt that the yellow femme had lied concerning the results of their first test of speed…

Face plate heating up in shame, Bee shuffled on her peds and merely nodded in agreement. Jazz had been built faster the her hadn't he. So it made sense that she'd be unable to 'outdrive' the Frenzy-Jazz 'medic' – had she wanted to.

"By the way Frenzy, how long until he's matured?" Ratchet asked as he crossed his arms and blocked the door. He'd been meaning to hold the youngster down so that he could gauge his spark maturity level for a long time now, but with the search for the AllSpark going on, he had just not had the time. So, with the damage the youngling had incurred, his spark would've been exposed to the femme as she cleaned out the debris. And with her clever attitude, Ratchet knew she'd considered that since she'd eventually mate with the youngling.

Bumblebee whimpered and slunk behind the femme, his face blushing at Ratchet's blunt question.

Frenzy considered the question for a second, glancing back at the youngling behind her. "He was younger than you mechs thought when you left Cybertron. Too young to be forced into combat, he, he, he," she snickered, turning her optics to the green mech, her harsh gaze bored into him. "For all your arrogance, you Autobots should be ashamed of asking a mere sparkling to do your job for you – especially when you put him up against a mature hacker like me. He, he, he, If Barricade hadn't been such a pathetic loser – your little sparkling would've been off lined by now," she snorted. Pushing the medic aside, she dragged the youngster behind her. The coldness and apparent truth to her words hung in the air behind them.

Ratchet sighed as he watched the two disappear down the hall. The femme's orders to Bumblebee floating back to him. He had known Bumblebee had been young, but just hadn't realized how young. The femme's insult cut him to his core, for he had been the one that had told Optimus that Bee could handle the mission. And if Frenzy's words were true – it would've truly been his fault had the youngster been off lined by them. He glanced up at the ceiling, as if he could see the sky above. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to Primus. Thanks that Barricade must've been as useless as Frenzy indicated he had been. Thanks the yellow mech had survived the terrible war. But, at least now, the youngster would live as all youngsters should – by helping to raise those younger than themselves – in a time of relative peace.

Turning, he made his way back to the med bay and to his work on old Ironhide. He'd reattached half his limbs, but still had a lot of work to do, but he wasn't about to lower himself by asking for Frenzy's assistance, though he briefly considered it.


	16. Remanufactured

**Remanufactured**

"Freagin' human steel, I'm goin' to so rust," Ironhide's grumbling continued as he turned his face away from the sparks that were flying up from his shoulder joint.

"Perhaps we should just leave you with no appendages? Hook your meta into the main frame and let you just sit there and be our alarm system?" Ratchet sneered as he continued to weld the new brackets in place. In fact, he'd actually considering leaving the mech that way for a few days after he'd had to listen to his griping for the last five hours.

Ironhide snorted as he snapped his mouth shut. He knew that the threat wasn't a joke. Ratchet would be more than happy to do that to him and wait for him to start begging for human parts. The slogger!

The sound of a diesel engine pulling in the drive filled their 'home'. Optimus's tires crunching on the gravel as he made the sharp turn in. The hiss of his air brakes as he stopped then backed the old trailer he was connected to, back in its spot. The hydraulic jack on the trailer automatically engaging as the mech pulled out from under it.

Mikaela hopped out of the cab, climbing down until her toes hit the gravel. She patted the mech as she stepped away, watching as he transformed. It still amazed her, transfixed her, when they did this. The fact that she was so blessed to be friends with them still blew her mind. "Well, we found what you needed," she said as she faced the silver femme walking towards her.

Frenzy-Jazz cocked her head, chuckling under her breath as she studied the two of them. Her keen audios still kept track of the yellow femme whom shadowed her, even as she turned her attention to the powerful ground mech in front of her. "Bumblebee, you need to load the scrap into the trailer so we can take it to the old furnace. He, he, think you can manage it, he, he," she asked in a sarcastic tone as she glanced at the 'young mech' behind her.

Without a word, Bumblebee nodded. The tarp covered youngster turning around and going back into the warehouse to fetch the remains of his chest armor.

Optimus and Mikaela exchanged an amused glance at the femme's blatant bossing of the youngster. As well as the fact that Bumblebee seemed to be taking it in stride. It was very disconcerting on the one hand, but somewhat understandable on the other. Frenzy WAS built to out-race any mech – so Bumblebee's tendency to flee was pretty much useless against a 'medic' like her. And he'd probably rather face the ire of Ratchet to Frenzy anyways!

"Mind informing me of where we're taking this scrap?" Prime asked the femme. Obviously, she was just assuming she could order HIM around as well. Damn, she was so much like old Chromia it was becoming eerie.

Marching back towards the warehouse, Frenzy glanced behind her. "He, he, you think we're just going to stick human-grade metal armor on him. He, he, he, You're fucking stupid," she cackled. Her voice drifting back to him.

Prime put his hand to his head as he shook his helm in dismay. This femme was even more outrageous than Chromia! Visions of her chaining him down and doing various types of S&M activities on him while they bred filled his meta with dread. Mumbling to himself, he banged his hand on his helm to stop that line of thinking. Perhaps he should consider setting some type of mating rules, so those horrifying possibilities wouldn't occur? His optics tracked her as she disappeared inside. Boy, did he dread the thought of mating that particular femme!

"You ok?" Mikaela asked him as she noticed his dread-filled optics.

Embarrassed, the big mech vehemently shook his head. "No, no, nothing's wrong," he stammered. With a resigned sigh, he started towards the warehouse.

"You're thinking of having to breed that bitch – aren't you?" the human girl asked him as she followed along. Her voice was soft, understanding, and full of sympathy for his predicament.

Optimus started a little bit at her soft words. Stopping dead in his tracks, he turned and looked down at her. Bending down, he offered his hand, wanting her at optics level as they conversed. He did need someone to talk to. Someone who'd understand, after all, freagin' Ironhide was fascinated by the femme, Bumblebee was now following her around like some love-struck puppy dog, and Ratchet… Well Ratchet had already done the deed with the obnoxious femme. So he'd just tell Optimus to suck it up and do it.

Mikaela climbed in and sat cross-legged in his hand as he stood back up. "She's not your type at all – is she?" she asked softly.

The big mech shook his helm, his optics full of sadness as he remembered his femme. His bond mate.. Who had died so long ago.. "But I have too," he stammered, "It's my responsibility to try and save my species." He shifted his chassis, his head going down in shame. For if he hadn't failed in protecting the AllSpark…

Mikaela patted his hand in sympathy. "Maybe it won't be so bad. After all, Ratchet said she didn't know much about bonding," she consoled.

This perked the mech up. For if the femme was that inexperienced, perhaps it wouldn't be a painful experience for him. He might actually have some control in the techniques they used. After all, HE was experienced in that aspect of mech life. A smile passed over his face, "Thanks for pointing that fact out. I had, forgotten that."

"Yep, maybe you could teach her a thing or two, hmmm?" the teen said in a conspiratorial tone of voice.

"As you've been doing with Sam?" Optimus teased back.

The girl didn't even blush. Giving him a wink and a shrug, she implied that that was exactly what she'd been doing with him.

"You are a mess Mikaela. But I'm glad you are, gives me someone to talk to about this – issue," Prime whispered to her as he began to continue his walk to the warehouse.

-----

"What in the hell are you doing?!?" Ratchet demanded to know as he watched Frenzy. The femme had walked in and nonchalantly began gathering up the bits and pieces of torn armor plating that had been discarded by the medic as he continued to piece Ironhide back together.

"He, he, you're as stupid as, he, he, Prime," she smirked as she continued to collect the pieces.

Although Ironhide did like to hear someone calling Ratchet 'stupid' without getting a wrench thrown at them, he was concerned since that was pieces of him that she was collecting. "So whatcha doin' with it, you little vandal?" he asked with a grin.

Without glancing up at the mechs, Frenzy snickered. "Melting this down with a little earth alloy, he, he, makes armor almost as tough as the original," she stated. Her arms now full, she stood up and glanced at Ratchet. "Seems only femmes are smart enough to see the true value in scrap, he, he," she smirked as she turned and waltzed out.

The look of disbelief on Ratchet's face plate was – priceless. Ironhide thought as he enjoyed the medic's disgusted snort at the truth in the femme's words. Ratchet prided himself at being the smartest, most educated mech amongst them – but this Decepticon femme was matching him at every turn. Ironhide couldn't help himself, he had to add just a little pepper to the wounded ego. "Sure sucks when a hacker sees the obvious things that you didn't – doesn't it?" he smirked.

With a glare, Ratchet hit the mech upside the helm with his wrench. "She concerns herself with fixing the broken, I concern myself with improving upon the original," he said with a derisive snort. Straightening his rounded shoulders, he marched over to the diagnostics and ran another scan on Ironhide's new cannons, making sure they were properly calibrated.

The black mech chuckled under his breath, making sure that Ratchet didn't hear him this time. Yep, Ratchet was miffed that the femme was actually as smart as he was. God that was funny!

Bumblebee strolled by, just as Optimus wandered in carrying Mikaela in his hand. Just then, Frenzy came back in.

Optimus turned and studied her briefly. "Bumblebee, why don't you give Frenzy that armload so she can sort it as she likes?" he ordered in an offhanded way.

Frenzy narrowed her optics at his words. "But I –" she started to say in disagreement.

"I need to talk to Bumblebee," Prime stated in a flat, don't-argue-with-me tone of voice. Setting Mikaela down, he turned and met the femme's optics with his own. "Plus, you seem to have a very specific way of doing things, I'd hate for Bumblebee to mess it up."

Realizing he wasn't going to be swayed, Frenzy snorted and grabbed the scrap from Bee's arms. "Keep your chest covered. I don't need to be cleaning freagin' dust out of you again!" she threatened. Stomping out of the warehouse as she grumbled under her breath, the femme slammed the door shut behind her.

"Freagin' Chromia reborn," Optimus noted dryly.

"Gotta love her," Ironhide chuckled as he sat on the exam table while Ratchet fiddled with his new cannons.

"Only a mech entranced by masochinistic tendencies would find such a personality attractive," Ratchet grumbled under his breath.

"You should get out more, you might find that you like it," Ironhide insulted back.

"Ok, both of you shut up," Optimus ordered. He didn't want the two locked in a day-long verbal sparring match that neither would win. He shifted his optics down to Bumblebee. The mech looked quite funny with the heavy black tarp duct taped across his opened chest. "So, she managed to hold you down?" he snickered.

Bumblebee looked down, shifting slightly with an ashamed look on his face.

"Apparently, Bumblebee was younger than we had thought," Ratchet mentioned as he struggled to unbolt one of the cannons he was working on.

Optimus stared down at the yellow mech in surprise. Then he looked back up at Ratchet. "So I assume that Frenzy must've examined his spark when she started his repairs? Can we trust her opinion?" he asked.

Ironhide snickered then, his optics dancing with merriment as he watched the medic shift uncomfortably. "The vandal's as good a medic as this old timer is. But Ratchet here won't admit it," he said with a smirk.

"I trust her opinion on that. After all, she would be very interested since eventually she will mate with Bumblebee," Ratchet said as he made sure to painfully rip the cannon off of Ironhide's mount.

Bumblebee blushed in apparent embarrassment as the older mechs discussed his 'maturity'. She still felt sick to her core that she was such a pathetic femme. Too afraid to breed.. Too afraid to admit what she was.. But her spark was Frenzy's now. So if Frenzy wanted her to remain a 'young mech' – that's what she would be.

"Speaking of Frenzy, it was obvious that she didn't truly attack Starscream merely to assist you two. Any ideas of what her real motives were?" Optimus asked as he glanced from Ironhide to Bumblebee.

"Damn, she's just like Chromia isn't she? Just sees a con and goes nuts.." Ironhide mumbled as he deactivated his new cannon that he'd been messing with on his other arm. But why would the Decepticon femme be so aggressive towards her own former comrades? He knew she hadn't switched ideologies at all. In fact, she thought the males' war was a case of pure stupidity didn't she? "Think he raped her or something?" he asked. He'd respect the hacker even more if that was the case. He could empathize with getting even for something like that..

"Negative on that one, she was unbonded before 'ol Ratchet here," Optimus said as he nodded towards the green mech.

Ironhide eyed the medic. Damn, if it wasn't bad enough he'd scored with her first – he'd actually been her first?!?! Freagin' lucky piece of slag.. But then again, if she was inexperienced like that.. Oh, how he could impress her.. "Hmmm, so why'd she freak?" he mused.

Ratchet shrugged, "Your theories are as good as ours on that one."

Bumblebee shifted nervously. She knew exactly why the femme hated Starscream. Knew every tragic detail of that part of the femme's life… Looking from mech-to-mech, she wondered if Frenzy'd get pissed if she told. She debated on that for a few astroseconds. No, Frenzy would find it humorous to shock them. To prove that she was superior.. Tougher then all of them put together… Gulping down her trepidation, Bumblebee cleared her throat.

Predictably, three sets of optics and one set of human eyes landed on her.

"Um, I know why she did it. She told me everything," Bumblebee stammered, her optics locked down on her shifting feet.

Ratchet's optic ridges went up. "So that's why you stayed still, hmmm? She horrified you with her life back with the cons," he surmised.

That sounded as good as anything, so Bee merely gulped and nodded his head. Then he began to talk. The horrific scenes coming to life by the detail in the words… The screams of the dying femmes as they suffered the unimaginable tortures that he described, seemed to almost reverberate from the metal walls of the hangar. With a final description, he was done. The final scene of a tiny hacker being ripped in half by a Seeker who was merely having a bad day, filled their metas.

Mikaela sobbed slightly, putting her hands to her face as tears dripped down on the floor. The soft pit-pat of their landing on the bare concrete seemed so loud in the silent horror filling the warehouse.

Ironhide gritted his dental plates in pure rage and hatred for the con mechs, his cannons fully activating as his systems reacted to his emotions. "Those mother-fucking, pieces-of-total-slag.. Son-of-trashcompactin…." He began to rant as he jumped up from the repair table and started pacing back-and-forth in anger.

"Ironhide, calm down!" Optimus ordered. He too was enraged at the vivid descriptions of what it was really like being a Decepticon femme. It sickened him to his very core that mechs could do this to any living thing.

Ratchet shook his head sadly. "I'm amazed that Frenzy could keep from completely glitching under those circumstances. It must've been her fear of being discovered that forced her to keep working with that mech." He couldn't help but actually feel some sympathy for the freaky femme.

Mikaela looked from one mech to another; it was so obvious why Frenzy had taken the risk of aligning herself to the Autobot males. If she ever went back to the Decepticons as a known femme.. The girl couldn't help but shudder.. She too, somehow felt some sympathy for the hacker who'd almost killed her. "Well, we know why she sought you guys out.. Poor thing.." she said softly.

"Perhaps we've been too judgmental towards the femme," Optimus said with sadness pervading each and every word. "There's no way she could be like the femmes we once knew, once loved.. After all she's lived through," he added. His meta drifting back to Elita One, imagining her going through everything that Frenzy had. No, even Elita One would have turned into a harsh femme after that. There was no blaming Frenzy for what she'd been turned into by the cons. There was only understanding.

Ironhide stomped around a few more times. "Well, when she wants to hunt them – I'm her partner. And you're not telling me different!" he snarled at Prime. His blue optics seething in rage over all he now knew.

Prime put his hand on Ironhide's shoulder armor. "After she's had some daughters, you may hunt with my blessing," he promised in a quite voice.

He and the black mech locked optics for a long second. But then Ironhide deactivated his cannons and calmed down. "I'll hold you to that Prime – I'll hold you to that," he said in a low voice. Turning, he stomped over to the repair table again and plopped his aft on it. "You've been braggin' how you can improve a mech's weapon systems – prove it!" he challenged Ratchet.

Optimus sighed and turned away. "Guess we need to get those new armor pieces smelt," he stated. With a heavy spark, he strolled to the entrance to the warehouse. Knowing he'd be thinking of those horrific visions every time he looked over at the femme that would be working next to him. But she wouldn't accept any sympathy from him, so it was pointless to discuss it with her. All he could do was accept the way she was – now that he fully understood it.


	17. Promises

**Promises**

Ironhide reactivated slowly, his optics brightening as he scanned the interior of his 'room'. Stretching a bit, he sat up and swung his legs off the edge of his berth in a smooth singular motion. His metal armor barely even made a noise against the heavy rubber mat that covered the metal of his berth. Cocking his head from side-to-side the sounds of popping linkages could be heard as he stretched out his neck.

"Hmmm, sucks getting old," he grumbled. Grinning slightly, he activated each of his cannons in turn, testing them as he always did. The sound of spinning bearings and power levels increasing within them, caused a sense of satisfaction to wash over him. He did love to shoot things. Preferably metal things with con insignia, but even targets could be fun.

But then he felt something odd, looking down, he realized he was covered in toilet paper. "Why that little freagin' vandal!" he snarled. The silver femme had obviously snuck in while he was in defrag and had 'rolled' him for fun. Ripping the thin paper off of himself, he just shook his head. "An here I thought we'd left the pranksters in deep space. Shit, had to go find a femme one!" he continued to grumble. He wondered if she'd also hit the other mechs? He'd find out soon enough. So stuffing the toilet paper into a bag, he opened the door to his room and walked towards the dumpster.

"Mornin' Ironhide," Optimus said as he walked by. He turned back to the console and continued his internet surfing.

"So I guess the vandal didn't go after you this time huh?" Ironhide grumbled. He stopped for a second, trying to tie the bag without splitting it in half. Then he spotted the green mech coming out of his room. The medic wasn't carrying a trash bag, nor did he appear to have any toilet paper on him. "Freagin' aye, so now I'm her favorite target. Shit!" he exclaimed as he looked back and forth between the other two.

Ratchet cocked his head, studying the black mech with an amused expression. "It would appear that she finds you the most entertaining victim," he said. He found it highly entertaining that the femme was becoming almost fixated on the hot-tempered Weapons Specialist. Not a defrag cycle went by that she didn't do some type of vandalism to the mech or his property. So far, it'd just been harmless fun though. "You should consider yourself fortunate that she hasn't reached Sideswipe's level of pranks," he told the black mech.

"At least you don't have a sign painted on your aft this morning," Bumblebee added as he came out of his quarters. He couldn't help but snicker a little bit because seeing 'Kick me' every time Ironhide had turned around yesterday had been hysterical. But Optimus had finally admitted to the black mech what all the humor had been about. Granted, he'd waited until after noon to tell Ironhide.

Ironhide's canons automatically activated as he narrowed his optics at the reminder of yesterday's prank. He was still a tad pissed that his comrades had taken so long in informing him of the sign. Glaring at the other three, he stormed out of the warehouse and went to the dumpster. When Frenzy showed up, he was going to have to have a little talk with the vandal. Inform her what the word 'respect' meant, and the fact she needed to show some. Lifting up the lid on the dumpster, he saw a note taped there; Obviously meant for him.

Ripping it off, he threw the bag of toilet paper in the dumpster. The lid came back down with a resounding bang behind him. Flipping the note over he read it. The biggest slag-eatin' grin came over his face as he looked up. "So, you want to play paintball today you little vandal? You are going to be so red," he snickered. Going back inside, he went to his store of red paintballs and loaded himself up with them. Still snickering to himself at how red that femme was going to be by the end of the day.

"What are you up too Ironhide?" Optimus asked as he poked his head around the corner.

He'd seen that mischievous grin on the black mech's face as he had waltzed by them, and that look generally proceeded a structure being demolished.

"Ah nothing Prime, just some target practice," Ironhide drawled. Satisfied he had enough 'ammo', he slammed the storage unit shut.

"Your 'target' wouldn't happen to be silver and about yay tall?" Prime queeried as he held his hand up at a little less than chest high. He raised his optic ridges in amusement, for even though Ironhide and Frenzy still referred to each other by very derogatory terms and seemed to enjoy insulting each other with every sentence; they were actually getting along very well. In fact, with Ironhide as her 'prank target' and the constant bets they made, she'd actually been keeping the impatient mech rather occupied. It almost seemed like the two really enjoyed the antagonism from the other.

Ironhide grinned, "She'll be red and about yay tall when she comes back," he snickered. Nodding to the bigger mech, he strolled to the main entrance.

"Hmmm, those two seem to be developing quite the relationship," Ratchet said. His optics gleamed, for the enjoyment those two were having with the mutual antagonism was highly entertaining to those around them.

Optimus nodded and sat down. He was a little perturbed that the femme seemed to have more interest in Ironhide than himself. Even though she wasn't his 'type' in the least, he'd always considered himself better with 'the femmes' than the hot-tempered Weapons Specialist. "So how are we going to decide on who she mates with when she's ready to carry another? It might cause some hard feelings if we tried to compete for her favor," he said as he looked to Ratchet and Bumblebee for ideas.

Ratchet shrugged, "She's told me that she really has no preference as to the mate, other than she won't get pregnant until she decides she wants too."

Bumblebee looked up at the green mech with a touch of shock. To not care who you mated with, at all? That was really too freaky! But as she thought about it, it did make a little sense that Frenzy would have to keep herself emotionally cold on that subject. She was expected to widen the spark pool as much as possible, which meant taking as many different mates as possible. She didn't understand how this femme actually managed to do this. The mere thought of letting any mech run his hands all over your chassis…. Nausea rolled through Bumblebee.. Gulping it down, she brought her attention back to the males' conversation.

"Perhaps we should come up with a way to decide before she delivers the first? So that there will be no confusion. Hmmmm, make sure that Frenzy's in full agreement?" Optimus mused. He rubbed his helm as he thought. He wasn't used to this idea of 'taking turns' breeding a femme, but he needed to find a way to keep everything amiable between the males as they did so.

Ratchet leaned back against the metal side of the warehouse, crossing his arms as he contemplated this potential problem. "Yes, but how can we decide without one or the other male having a slight advantage, thus not having a fair shot?"

Looking from one-to-the-other, Bumblebee recalled that Sam and Mikaela 'flipped a coin' when they were trying to decide on what to do on their night's out. Seemed like a fair way of going about it. "Um, what about flipping a coin?" he said softly.

Ratchet and Optimus both raised an optic ridge at the idea. It was a good idea, for neither male would have any advantage over the other. "That's a perfect idea Bumblebee! If Frenzy agrees, we'll do that tonight," Prime said. He still didn't know if he really wanted to bed the femme before Ironhide. Granted, he didn't know if he really wanted to do her anyways. But eventually he'd have to. He'd just focus on the fact that he'd be a father soon afterward, that would make it all worthwhile.. At least he hoped it would.

-----

"Weeeeeee!" Jazz's voice screamed from above.

Transforming as fast as he could, Ironhide tried to get a bead on the silver femme that was leaping from building to building above him. He got pegged with two green paintballs as Frenzy-Jazz got him. Then the femme disappeared. Looking down at himself, now splattered with more than a few rounds of green paint, Ironhide couldn't help but grin, For Frenzy-Jazz had almost the same number of red splatters. "Lucky shot you little vandal," the black mech mumbled as he transformed and headed in the direction of the disappearing femme.

Heading towards a bridge, Ironhide kept his scanners peeled, looking for any sign of his quarry. Suddenly, he spotted her. She was hiding up underneath the bridge, trying for another one of her ambush attacks. Transforming, the black mech snuck around to the other side. Darting around a pillar, he hit her full-on with a volley of rapid-fired red. She shrieked in disbelief, trying desperately to turn at the same time that she hung onto her precarious perch. But she slipped and fell.

"Oh shit!" Ironhide's devilish grin changed to a look of horror as he darted under her, trying to catch the femme before she hit the ground. He was successful, but her momentum caused them both to crash to the ground. Fortunately, the femme landed on top of the mech, not a scratch on her. Well, if one could see under all the red splatters of paint.

"Um, my bad," Ironhide stammered as he looked up at the mostly red femme.

She snickered as she wiped the paint from her optics. "He, he, you did that just so I would fall," she chuckled as she grinned down at him and winked.

He couldn't help it, his shade deepened slightly. He really hadn't done it to get the femme close like this. Granted, it did feel good… But that wasn't his attention at all. He was getting to like the hyper and temperamental femme. There was nothing 'soft' about her in the least, which is exactly how he liked his femmes.

She hoped up off of him, landing lightly on her peds. She didn't seem phased in the least that it was obvious that he was 'winning' this particular game. This male was the most entertaining of all of them. He'd take any challenge she threw his way, and unlike Decepticons, he didn't get mad if he lost, he'd just 'get even' during the next game. And the constant verbal sparring was very entertaining.

"Looks like I won this round little vandal," Ironhide bragged as he got up on his feet.

He thoroughly enjoyed the new paint job he'd put on the femme.

She shrugged, "Won the battle, not the war." She winked at him, letting him know in no uncertain terms that the games between them would continue.

Ironhide laughed, sloggers was this femme full of spunk! Then he looked down at her, realizing that there was something he'd been meaning to tell her ever since the Starscream fiasco the week before. Wrapping his digits around her upper arm, he made her look up at him. "Just promise me you won't go con hunting without me. I'd hate to miss out on some fun."

She cocked her head, studying him intently. With his impressive fire power to back her up, she'd get the Seeker and make the freager pay. But she wanted to deliver the off lining blow; she wanted to feel the mech's spark fleeing through her hands. "Maybe, if you'll promise to let me have the last strike," she stated.

"Hmmmm, guess we have a deal then?" Ironhide said as he held out his fist.

Bumping his fist with hers, they gave each other their promise.

---

"Geeze, you two look like a couple of gangs got hold of your asses," Sam whistled as the two paintball covered mechs walked into the warehouse.

Ironhide actually puffed his chest plate out with a little pride. "I told the little vandal not to mess with me, she just didn't listen," he bragged.

Frenzy-Jazz cut him a look and snorted. "I just let the slogger win every-now-and-then. Would hate to show him up every single time, he, he," she snickered.

"Well, while you two are scrapping the paint off each other, we have a decision to make," Ratchet announced as he tossed them some solvent and rags. He had no doubt that the Weapons Specialist had indeed won the 'match' fair-and-square. But the femme wasn't the type to ever truly admit defeat, even in a game. Just like Ironhide to be sure… It was kind've terrifying to think that the pair actually complimented each other very nicely. In fact, the medic wondered how much destruction their offspring would create. He crossed his digits in silent prayer that Optimus would win the bet, for he wasn't really ready to handle any little Ironhide-Frenzy's running amuck just yet.

Deftly catching the cleaning supplies, the two paint-splattered mechs sat down and began to work on their chassis. "So what this 'decision'?" Ironhide asked.

"Which one of us is next," Optimus flatly stated. Why beat around the bush on this?

Ironhide's engines choked a bit in shock. He'd known they'd have to, but he was hopeful that Frenzy'd just decide it. And since she liked to harass him, he figured he was on top of her list. Well, he hoped he was. But after he'd had her, would he really want to see her with another mech? Even if that was what was the best for the species? Shaking his head as he rubbed the solvent harder onto a rather thick spot of green paint, he tried to force those thoughts from his processor. Now was no time to be getting attached to a femme like that..

"So how do you want to go about it, Frenzy? Do you have a preference?" Ratchet asked the red-coated silver femme. He wanted to make sure that the way they were going to decide was satisfactory to her.

Frenzy looked up from her scraping of hardened paint. "It doesn't really matter to me. I just name when, he, he.. period," she snickered, her standard half-crazed smile of amusement on her face. She wondered if she'd prefer Prime or Ironhide. Though Prime was such a dull dolt compared to the more energetic Weapons Specialist. She figured that the black mech would be the more entertaining on the berth.. But it'd be interesting to see how the males were going to make the decision..

"As I thought, so we go with our way then," the truly green mech flatly stated.

Ironhide narrowed his optics, he didn't trust the other two to come up with a 'fair' way for he and Optimus to decide on which one became a father first. "So what 'way' is this?" he grumbled. He couldn't help but cringe a little bit as he had to use a metal rod to scrape some green paint from between his armored joints.

Mikaela came in, grinning as she realized that all the mechs were back, safe and sound. Noticing that the silver femme was much more red than Ironhide was green, it was obvious who'd won the day's 'challenge'; Which was good, since it meant that the black mech would be in a good mood. Whenever 'the vandal' won, he'd grumble the rest of the night.

"Got the silver dollar Prime," Sam said happily. He still thought this was a funny-as-hell way to decide between two guys as to which one would basically 'get laid' next, but hell if it worked.. Why not?

"Silver dollar? What type of competition are we entering into Prime?" Ironhide asked. He figured there had to be some type of competition between them, and the winner got the femme when she was ready again. Granted, after he taught her what real bonding was all about, she might not want to mate with anyone else….

"Oh, you're going to flip a coin on it Ironhide. Best two-out-of-three," Mikaela chuckled. She also thought this was truly hysterical, even more so as she saw the look of disbelief on the green-coated black mech's face plate.

Frenzy couldn't help but snicker. She'd expected them to somehow compete in a physical skill-type competition, for in the con ranks the strongest or quickest males got to ravage more breeder slaves than the 'lesser males'. Flipping a coin seemed so stupid.

"Frenzy, will you agree to the results?" Ratchet asked her. His optics narrowed slightly at her continuing quiet snickers.

She just shrugged and nodded. Sure she'd go along with whomever the coin chose. But these Autobots were so pathetically peaceful in the way they went about things. She'd have rather seen the two engaged in a wrestling match or something. Add a little mud and it'd be a fun show to watch!

"You flip Sam," Optimus told the teen. Glancing up at the black mech, he called 'heads' while the coin was in the air.

Catching it, Sam looked under his hand. "First one's tails," he told them.

Ironhide smirked at Prime as he continued scraping off green paint. "Let's do the same on the second one, I'm feelin' lucky," he told Sam.

Sam nodded and tossed it up again. Catching it, he looked under his hand. "Second one's heads," he informed them.

"Hmmm, looks like we're even old buddy," Optimus joked as he met the black mech's optics.

"Ya, heard that one before…" Ironhide retorted. He nodded at the boy to do the final flip.

Gulping a little bit, Sam tossed it up one last time. Catching it, he looked is his hand. "Well, it's heads," he announced.

"It appears that Optimus is next," Ratchet said dryly.

"Ya, whatever," Ironhide replied, his tone changing swiftly to his normal sarcastic tone. Bending his head down, he continued to scrape off the paint. Trying not to let anyone see that it really bothered him a little.. The thought of Prime's hands all over the spunky femme's chassis….

---

You know what to do.. Please review..


	18. New Life

**New Life**

_Note: since this chapter had very little Bumblebee in it, I've gone ahead and published it without PAW07 going over it. She's a busy woman right now, and I'm really trying to get this story finished prior to Revenge of the Fallen release. Since I've already started on the sequel to this and it involves '09 characters. Only two chapters left!_

_----_

Pain filled Frenzy's abdomen. Glaring up at the mechs gathered around she forced her optics to stay free of tears. She was a tough con femme, she would show no weakness. "Fucking bastards," she growled in a low tone. "You freagers owe me big time," she snarled up at Ratchet. Unable to stop her hydraulic pressure from shooting up as the next round of agony tore through her. The little bastards in her containment unit felt like they were trying to slice their way out of her!

Ironhide let her grab one of his hands in a viselike grip. Leaning over her, he rubbed one of her sensitive audio receptors with his other hand. "You're the toughest femme I've ever seen," he told her. His tone was full of concern for her safety through this.

She snorted, "That's because I'm a con. Just get this slag out of me!" Another round of pain hit as the sparkling raked the containment unit with gun fire.

"The spark infusion is almost complete, just one more minute," Ratchet said as he watched the monitors. "You two, make sure to catch the sparkling or sparklings. We've got to contain them immediately," he said to Prime and Bumblebee.

Those two mechs stood on either side of her abdominal section, their hydraulics pressurized so that they could grab the new sparkling or sparklings as soon as her containment unit opened. Their optics intently watching as they waited. Their hands held right above her.

Frenzy felt her systems weakening, then crashing. She knew the sparkling or sparklings were now completing the final separation from her spark. They were fully infusing into the temporary chassis' that Ratchet had placed in the containment unit. As she slid open the doors, all of her systems shut down. Deactivated, Frenzy lay there in total helplessness.

"Opening," Prime said as he and Bumblebee tensed. Both of them scanned for the slightest movement, ready to grab the new life. Suddenly, flashes of silver caught their optics. "Shit!" the big mech exclaimed as he closed his hands, barely catching the first sparkling by one of its thin legs. It turned in a blur, strafing him with its tiny guns. They bounced harmlessly off Prime's exterior armor. Even as he fought to keep hold of the tiny sparkling, he moved away from the femme and towards the door to the containment room. The enraged sparkling cursed at him the entire time with its indecipherable beeps and whirs.

"Wow! A twin!" Bumblebee shrieked as he barely managed to grab a second, smaller one as it leapt from the containment unit. He managed to get its little arms pinned to its sides as he caught it. Twirling, he made for the same door that Prime was headed for. The sounds of enraged sparkling chatter coming from his clasped hands. Diving into the containment room, Bumblebee slid to the side wall as Optimus tossed the first twin in after him.

Instantaneously, the heavy door slid shut, sealing the yellow mech and the two frantic sparklings inside.

-----

"How is she?" Ironhide and Optimus asked in unison.

Ratchet ran his scans and then performed a visual check of her systems. The inside of the containment unit was heavily dented, but none of her primary systems appeared to be damaged. Forcing the unit to slam shut, he started to put her abdominal armor back in place. "Primary systems are fine, though very depleted. And I'll have to replace the containment unit before she infuses another sparkling. But other than that, she'll recover," he reported.

A mood of happiness pervaded the room, as the three mechs got big smiles on their faceplates. New life had been born, and the femme had survived relatively unscathed! They could not have asked for a better outcome. And to have twins born! TWINS!

Optimus smacked Ratchet on his back. "Congratulations old friend!" he chuckled. His optics gleaming bright with happiness for his friend, for his species..

Ironhide hit Ratchet hard in his shoulder armor with his fist, a big grin on his face. "Never thought you'd be a dad before me you slogger," he chuckled, "You lucky fucker!"

Ratchet couldn't help but to grin. His entire chassis seemed to be suffering from strange electrical impulses dancing through it. Very disconcerting, but the sensations seemed somehow appropriate considering the occasion. His species had a chance now. Perhaps one or both of the sparklings was a femme. Looking down at the temperamental femme, he couldn't help but pat her gently on her leg armor. Without her, he'd never have had this opportunity.. The species wouldn't have this opportunity.. "I've come to the conclusion that Frenzy is not that intolerable," he said softly. His voice showed his respect for the freaky femme. She was very brave to accept the danger of birth. To be willing to mate with mechs she had no feelings for.

Optimus looked down at the still chassis. His optics filled with contemplation as he too thought about the sacrifice that Frenzy was making. She was hard to get along with, for sure, but she was tolerable to a point. Like all the mechs, he'd lay down his life to protect hers. "Yes, you've got a point there Ratchet. Considering what we're asking of her, she's tolerable," he agreed as he couldn't help but pat her shoulder armor in a friendly manner.

"Ah, ya'll just can't handle a tough broad," Ironhide snickered with a wink. Of all the mature mechs, he was the only one who had really seemed to strike up a semblance of a true friendship with the hacker. Although it was a strange friendship to be sure! The two still referred to each other with derogatory nicknames instead of their given names.

"Hmmm, reminds you of another femme I'm sure," Ratchet smirked. His optics gleaming as he recalled an enraged Chromia streaking after a fleeing Ironhide.

Prime moved away from the femme, to glance through the one-way observation glass of the containment room. But as he walked by Ironhide, he punched him lightly on his shoulder armor. "Just don't tell Frenzy what you and Chromia used to do. I'm not into pain during mating," he shot Ironhide a knowing look, "unlike certain other mechs."

Ironhide grinned mischievously as he met Prime's optics. "You just haven't experienced real fun old timer. But I'll make sure to teach her afterward. That way, she won't know what she's missing while she's stuck with you," he said with a light hearted tone. But the insult was there for all to hear.

Starting to turn around, Prime was just about to retort when Ratchet raised his hand, silencing them both. "That's enough of the juvenile remarks. Ironhide, take her to her room so that she can recuperate," he ordered.

Ironhide grinned as he gathered the unconscious femme into his arms. Even though the decision had been made that Prime would sire the next sparkling, he was pleased that Frenzy obviously preferred him. He'd just have to avoid being around when Prime was mating her. He didn't think he could bear that. The knowledge that it was happening was going to be hard enough to swallow. Maybe he would whisper little tidbits of mating techniques to the femme. She was more than the type that would demand to try them. And it'd feel kind've nice to know that Prime was a little miserable during his mating. Yep, Frenzy was just like Chromia in many ways. Only a real mech like himself could truly appreciate them!

With a slight swoosh, the door slid open so that he could carry the femme out. Glancing over his shoulder he smiled as he caught site of his two old friends, side-by-side, staring through the glass at Ratchet's new sparklings. A sight he never thought he'd ever see. Warmth spread through him, for even though he had to share the femme, at least they had her.

"Hey Ironhide, is she ok?" Mikaela asked softly, her voice filled with concern.

"Ya, how'd it go?" Sam added. He looked up at the limp form in the black mech's arms, hopeful that their species last hope hadn't been injured – or worse.

"Aw, Vandal's tough as nails, this was nothing," Ironhide said with a grin. Nodding over his shoulder at the open door, he made it clear that they could go in now. He chuckled as the two excited humans ran by him to look at the sparklings in the containment room. "Yep, you're a tough little bitch aren't you?" he joked as he glanced down at the unconscious femme in his arms.

Striding down the wide hall, he stopped briefly in front of Frenzy's room. He considered going in, but Ratchet had informed him during their briefing that he would have to stay by the femme's side continuously until she was strong enough to protect herself again. And her berth was awful small. He'd have to defrag on the floor in there. So he decided that he'd just take her to his room. Then they could both be comfortable during her recovery period.

His meta made up, Ironhide turned and walked past her room and went into his. Laying her gently down on his berth, he stood back and studied her. "Yep, you look real good right there," he chuckled under his breath, "Can't wait until my turn."

Sliding onto the berth, he made himself comfortable as he clicked on the plasma TV. Pulling the unconscious femme tightly to his chassis, he arranged her so that her helm was resting on his chest. Wrapping his arm around her, he settled down and flipped through the channels. It did feel so good and so right – to have a femme nestled up against him. Brought back memories of when Chromia had been in a good mood.

Settling down, he found an older Terminator movie to watch. Without thinking, he rubbed her armor as he enjoyed the violence playing out on the screen. He figured that she would probably enjoy similar entertainment, which was good because they were stuck together for a little while. Once again, he thanked Primus that the last femme had been more his cup of oil. He couldn't have stood one that was all sweet and emotional like Elita One had been. What Prime had seen in her – he'd never understand…

------

As the door slid shut and darkness settled over the room, Bumblebee switched on her infrared sensors. Opening her hand, she let the frantic sparkling out. It scampered off and ran around the room, chattering in its strange language. The bigger one joined it and together they scanned the darkness for any sign of movement. Of any possible threat…

Bumblebee stayed stock still. She knew that since they thought she was a youngling, she'd get stuck with this job. But she'd rather watch the skittish sparklings, than give birth to them. So she settled back for the long week to come, keeping her battle visor locked down over her face plate. She knew they'd strafe her with machine gun fire if she made the slightest movement. This was their defensive instincts. This is why they had to be contained for the first week or so. So she just watched them warily, just as they watched her.

Several hours passed and the larger one became curious. Hesitantly, it approached the still yellow mech and poked her with a digit, jumping back even as it did so. When nothing happened, it came forward again. Then the smaller one dared to approach, dared to touch. This went on for a few more hours; until the sparklings dared to climb onto her leg, as before they jumped off in fright. And the cycle continued.

----

"They're kind've cute," Mikaela told Ratchet as they watched through the observation glass.

Although she could see the green mech swell up with pride, he kept his expression one of seriousness. But he was pleased. Very pleased! The sparklings were strong and curious. To top it off, they seemed to naturally work as a team. This boded well for them having base personalities that would work well in a group. Wandering over to the medical computer consol, he ran another round of scans on the sparklings.

"So, femme or mech?" Optimus asked as he peered over the medic's rounded shoulder armor.

Ratchet hummed a bit, punched a few more commands in, and slowly read the results. Rubbing his chin he considered the data. "Femme," he stated as he met Prime's optics. "Both of them are femme."

Optimus hugged the old medic, "Our species is saved!" he exclaimed in joy.

Sam and Mikaela hugged as they heard the news. "Oh that's so great! Congratulations Ratchet!" Sam said to him.

"So what are you going to name them?" Mikaela asked.

Ratchet considered this. "The larger one we shall designate as 'Pathfinder' and the smaller one will be 'Smallfoot'," he decided. He didn't think Frenzy would really care if he gave the sparklings designations or not. If so, she'd just have to deal with it.

---

_Note: yep, Pathfinder and Smallfoot are little known femme canons that I ran across while I was researching femmes last year. I'm keeping this story free of OC's. _

_You know what to do… Please review.. It helps us improve!_


	19. Truths

**Truths**

An Earth year has passed, and for the mechs it has been a busy and rewarding time. The sparklings grew in knowledge and strength, their safety ensured by the power of the mechs that raise them. They explore their world while tucked safely inside the cabs of the doting Autobots. Closely supervised as they dart amongst the rocks of the mountains, play in the waters of the rivers, and dashed through the darkness of the human settlements at night like tricksters up to no good.

Their mother danced amongst them. Her optics gleam in almost sparkling-like amusement as she teaches them the simple enjoyment of pranking the larger mechs. She excites them with her breakneck speeds as she races the yellow mech. The sparklings grow attached to the hyper femme, for her energy matches their own.

Over this time, the yellow mech seems to become almost fixated on the femme, his optics glimmering in eagerness when she challenges him to races. The other mechs snickering as the two disappear in a cloud of smoking rubber down the dark mountain roads. To disappear at times for an hour or so, only to reappear in the suddenness of screeching brakes as they lock up and slide dangerously close to their comrades, raining them with gravel. They then transform in a blur with joking insults and challenges for the next race.

The friendship with the yellow femme-in-disguise wasn't the only thing to appear on the horizon of a year's time, but a deeper relationship began to emerge between Ironhide and Frenzy. An understanding between them, if one would. Somehow, they start to see each other as equals. Their hidden passion, fury, and rage were barely contained under the surface of their continual war games. In a sense, they are now partners: warriors that patiently waited for the day cycle they will be able to exact the revenge for the long-dead femmes back on Cybertron.

A silent one observes them during this time like a shadow following in the night; _she_ watches and learns. She sees the truth that the Autobot mechs do not. The truth behind those exuberant races between the two swift ones. Yes, she sits high on the ridge like a watching god and observes them like a readying shooter. She watches them as they stop their race with neither one claiming victory. She smirks as they lock lips in desire. As they slowly sink to the ground and bond as only two femmes can.

Yes, the silent one sees the two sparklings. Knows they are from a single mother spark. She listens as the mechs call the yellow femme a youngling. She knows without a doubt that the mechs are ignorant of the truth. That the yellow one called Bumblebee is far from a youngling. A fact that she can use to strengthen of her position when she chooses to expose herself to them. Yes, she needs that power, because her core had filled with dread when she had first overheard Optimus call out to the silver mech named Jazz. No, it wasn't Jazz anymore – it was Frenzy. And of all femmes, the silent one dreaded this one. For Frenzy hated her with a passion almost as great as her hatred towards her twin's murderer. And the silent one knew she had every reason to hate her. For she had stood by and allowed the murder to occur, she had not intervened; she had broken the code of the femmes.

But she had done so out of self-preservation.

Caution learned from a life of hidden torment, she waits for her moment. Plans her next move as she considers her options. Her optics track their movements. Make note of their human allies. For there - there is the key for her acceptance into their ranks.

----

Mikaela was walking back from the nearby gas station. She carried a bag with some fried chicken in it and two sodas. Since it was so warm out, she had ended up drinking one of those sodas as she walked. She berated herself a little bit because she'd had to stay in after school suspension and by the time she'd gotten back to the warehouse, all of the Autobots had split except for Optimus; he was busy tracking some possible stasis pods that were entering the solar system so she couldn't catch a ride. Cursing the damned truancy officer for catching her ass last week, she swore to be a little sneakier next time.

Of course, she had walked right by the store on her way to the warehouse, but picking up dinner hadn't even crossed her mind at the time. She'd just figured that Sam would get Bumblebee to take them through a drive thru or something. But they'd split along with the others, typical male behavior.

Taking the last sip of the opened soda, she couldn't help but snicker. Frenzy had played yet another one of her notorious pranks on her favorite target. And predictably, Ironhide had gone flying out of the warehouse with a cannon full of paint balls in search of the snickering femme.

"Geeze, it's so obvious they're into each other," Mikaela snickered to herself as she took another sip, her eyes closing for a moment to enjoy the caffeinated goodness. It was both weird and fitting that the two temperamental transformers were attracted to each other. It was also slightly terrifying to the girl. For if Ratchet's sparklings came out like those insane cell phones sparked by Vector Sigma and took over a week to calm down – what in the hell would Ironhide sparklings come out like?!? She cringed even thinking about it.

Bumblebee and Sam had apparently taken the two sparklings with them on an outing, with the overprotective father following them along. Sure, Ratchet had probably claimed that he needed to study some geological formation or something, but he just wouldn't let those two little femmes out of his sight. The teen smiled warmly as she thought about the big green mech and his two little daughters. Sure, the sparklings kind of gave her the creeps at first, because they looked almost identical to Frenzy when the femme had first come to Earth, but the youngsters had grown on her. In fact, they followed the two humans around in absolute fascination as if they were ducks walking in a row. So they were indeed – dare she say it - cute.

Feeling a pebble in her shoe, the teen sighed in disgust and stopped, setting down the bag. Taking her sneaker off, Mikaela banged it against the ground trying to dislodge the small rock that was wedged near the toe.

"This would've been much easier if Optimus had just given me a five minute lift!" she griped to herself, but she understood the mech's position. He was so focused on the fact that there might be more of his mechs coming in so he wasn't about to let the warehouse be 'unmanned' for even five minutes. Cussing a little, she ended up having to stick her fingers way up in the shoe to get the stone out. Stuffing her foot back in it, she knelt down to pick up her bag.

-----

Frenzy giggled silently as Ironhide flew right by her in search of her in their game of hide and destroy. Making sure old Ironhide was out of sights, she circled around and headed back towards the warehouse. She fully intended to have the Weapon Master's room fully redecorated before he came back. A renovation would really irritate him to no end! Smirking to herself, she envisioned his expression as she drove. Her scanners still on their normal setting since, as a con femme, Frenzy was always on guard for any possible threats. So it was of little surprise that Frenzy-Jazz recognized the human female as her long-distance scan rained over her.

She debated pulling a prank on Mikaela, it had been a while. But her mind offered her a question instead of a prank; why was the girl walking along the road? Could the human not get a lift from one of the mechs? Frenzy snickered since there was no way she'd let one of them inside her. True, she was getting along with them, but that friendship only went so far. Perhaps, she should follow along behind the girl? Honking at her to hurry up and being otherwise obnoxious. Frenzy just couldn't decide. So, pulling over into a Dodge dealership and parking amongst the other Vipers - about a half-mile behind the human female - she began to mull over what she should do.

It was in this moment of stillness that Frenzy's scans picked up a Decepticon that seemed to be tracking the human female. She passed right by Frenzy-Jazz who was perfectly concealed in the row of matching cars. Frenzy felt her fluids begin to boil over. It wasn't the fact that this 'Con was most likely going to kidnap Mikaela that bothered her in the least; it was the fact of who the 'Con was.

It was Barricade: the slaggin' femme that had stood by and not lifted a Primus-damned digit to help her sister against Starscream! The one femme in the entire Galaxy that Frenzy truly wished had been off-lined! But no, the bitch had survived. And was apparently deciding to align herself with the Autobot mechs through a kidnapping by the looks of it. Frenzy snarled as she considered this fact. No, she couldn't off-line the freagin' whore, but now that she had a chassis that could more than take the police cruiser on! She was going to give her a whipping Barricade would not soon forget!

Pulling out of the dealership, Frenzy floored it after Barricade…

---

Mikaela didn't even notice the police cruiser coming up slowly behind her. She was still limping along and griping in her mind about truancy officers, but then the ominous sound of a transforming mech filled her ears. Turning around, she dropped the bag to the ground and staggered back in sheer terror as she looked into the angry red optics of Barricade. The 'Con was still for a moment, like a hawk eyeing a cornered mouse, before he started running towards her. He had his hand outstretched, his fingers already closing around her…..

When, out of nowhere, a silver Viper hit him at full speed with a tackling swerve. Barricade was sent flying through the air gracelessly, landing heavily on the pavement thirty feet away with a sickening screeching noise. Shaking his head, he jumped to his feet and ran at the Viper. Frenzy-Jazz transformed, meeting him head-on. Sliding to the side of him, she used his own momentum to throw him past her. In a blur, Frenzy spun and leapt at him, her machine gun blazing as if hell itself was falling from the sky.

Shocked by all of it, Mikaela began to run towards the warehouse with a shivering and shocked heart. If she could get there, then Optimus would protect her. The sounds of clashing mechs and machine guns filled the air around her with sickening vibrations that seemed to echo through her very lungs. Why Frenzy of all mechs was protecting her, Mikaela had no clue. Though they got along, somehow she sensed that Frenzy really didn't like the humans and just dealt with them because of the mechs. Perhaps Barricade had done something to Frenzy in the past? Gasping for breath, Mikaela streaked towards the warehouse, deciding that she didn't care WHY Frenzy had come to her aid. She just thanked God that she had as her heart pounded and her lungs fought for air, the landscape around her became nothing but a blur as she sprinted towards safety.

"You fucking bitch, I'm going to make you pay!" Frenzy-Jazz shrieked in absolute rage. Taking a hard punch from Barricade, she returned it with a sharp right hook. Then, they locked arms and they hit the ground wrestling. Over-and-over they tumbled, both of them trying desperately to get an advantage over the other. Activating her electromagnet, Frenzy stuck her right hand onto Barricade's face, trying to cause the femme's processor to glitch under the intense magnetic field.

Grunting in anger, Barricade punched her hard in her chest plates over-and-over again. Eventually, the cruiser forced her to release her grip on the other's face. But as she did so, she raked her appendages over the red optics, blinding her right side.

"You freagin' rust bucket of a whore!" Barricade growled. Twisting sharply, she finally managed to get on top of her challenger.

Frenzy thrust as hard as she could with her knee, catching her opponent right in her exposed hip joint. Just as she did this, she punched Barricade's jaw as hard as she could. The sharp wave of pain caused the cruiser to roll off of her. Kicking out with her other leg, she felt a wave of satisfaction as she felt circuits crunch. Spinning around, she swiftly got back to her peds just as Barricade was about to hit her full-on again.

As if by dramatic plot twist, two Chevy Stingrays came out of nowhere: one gray and one yellow. Spinning straight towards the action, they transformed and leapt at Barricade as she climbed to her peds. The three crashed down on the ground with a loud bang of metal hitting road.

"We got him Jazz!" Sideswipe yelled as he grappled with the frenzied Decepticon.

Sunstreaker was about to hit the mech again when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and jerked off. The silver femme released her grip on the yellow mech and sent him sliding down the pavement. The egotistical mech gapped in indignation as sparks flew from under his chassis. His beautiful yellow paint now leaving a stripe down the center of the lane…

"What the hell?!? My fucking paint job!!" he shrieked in dismay even as he was still sliding.

The silver femme grabbed the black helm of the red shouldered Autobot. Locking her strong electro magnet onto his helm, she peeled him off the Decepticon and swung him away. He skidded down the road a little ways on his aft. His optics opened wide in disbelief that Jazz had attacked him.

"You freagin' mechs stay outta this! This is between femmes!" she snarled at them as she jumped back on top of Barricade and began pounding away again. Her voice no longer the deep tone of Jazz for she had reformatted it. Now she sounded like a deep alto African American woman.

The twins had picked themselves up and were running back to the fray when her words hit their audios. Stunned, the two stood there for a second with their mouths opened in shock, their weapons falling to the ground.

"Did Jazz just say what I think he said?!?" Sideswipe exclaimed in disbelief. '_Jazz, of all mechs, was really a freagin' femme'_ he thought in shock. Of all Autobots to be a femme – it was HIM!?!

Sunstreaker snarled, "Femme or mech, I'm going to so kick Jazz's aft later over THIS!" He rubbed his side in disgust, the paint peeled off and the fiberglass shredded.

"But… But if Jazz is a femme, and he's, um, she's fighting a femme…" Sideswipe stammered as he watched the two femmes beating the hell out of each other like two dogs killing each other over a piece of meat.

The yellow mech got a very nauseated expression on his gorgeous face. "Ewwwww, that means Barricade is a – I'm gonna reflux my energon," he said as he bent over and spewed.

Familiar yells filled their audios. Turning, the mechs saw Optimus charging up the road, his gun out, his optics bright with battle lust as he focused on the police cruiser wrestling with the femme: the very femme they needed to rebuild the species with! Turning, the commander quickly ordered the twins to attack Barricade and protect Frenzy even as she ran towards them.

"What the hell?!?" Sideswipe mumbled to Sunstreaker, the mech unsure if he wanted to fill that request.

"But Jazz said to stay outt've it. And why the hell is Prime yelling about Frenzy?!" the yellow mech replied with dripping rage, a part of him wondering if Prime would notice a little extra punch to Jazz's face when they were 'rescuing him.

They held out their hands in confusion as Optimus reached them. "Jazz TOLD us to stay out of it," they said in perfect unison like two children claiming 'not guilty'.

"And she freagin' threw me on the road. Just LOOK at the damage!" Sunstreaker griped as he pointed to his shredded paint job.

"She what?!" Optimus said.

By now the femmes were tiring, but still going at it. Their insults of 'bitch and whore' clearly audible to the Autobot leader. He lowered his gun, watching them with an expression half-way between horror and amazement. "You mean Barricade is a femme too?!" he said with disgust in his tone as he took a shocked step back as if to look at the scene again. After a minute of staring and realizing what he saw indeed was true, he stepped towards the two femmes deciding he needed to break them up before they bleed each other dry. Not that he even got to touch them.

"Fucking stay out of it Prime. This bitch needs to pay!" Frenzy-Jazz screamed at him, firing a round at his peds to make her point.

"But we need femmes!" Optimus yelled back as he half-danced, half-jumped back, barely getting his servos out of harms way. Granted, he wasn't sure they needed one like Barricade, but a femme was a femme. They were all necessary and – despite his disgust – welcomed.

Barricade staggered back to her feet, trying to swing another punch at Frenzy. "Bitch, if you think you're going to lead ME. You've got a major glitch!" she snarled.

Sideswipe put a hand on Optimus's shoulder armor. "Um, maybe this is their way of deciding the pecking order?" he offered with a shrug.

Frenzy grabbed the other femme with her magnet and threw her across the road, storming after her as she did so. "He, he, I ain't going to off-line the little freagin' whore," she smirked to Prime as she stormed by him. "I'm just going to, he, he, he – kick her tail pipes through her, he, he, vocal processor," she snickered.

Getting to the femme, she resumed her attack.

Just then; Ironhide, Bumblebee, Ratchet and the sparklings showed up. Scrambling out of Bumblebee, the two little femmes chattered in terror as they watched their mother locked in combat. Darting behind Ratchet, they crouched there, trembling in fear as if they were the ones being physically attacked.

Ironhide snarled, his cannons automatically activating. But since Prime and the twins were just standing there watching the fight, obviously Frenzy was not at risk. But just what was going on? "What the hell is up Prime?" he demanded to know.

Ratchet, Sam and Bumblebee also looked expectantly at the big mech.

"Well, good news and bad news men," he said as he scratched his helm. He still wasn't sure which was worse: the fact that there was another Decepticon femme around or that the femme happened to be none other than Barricade. "Turns out there's a second femme who survived," he added as he nodded to the fight, gravel flying up and the two femmes rolled.

Ironhide almost gagged, "Oh god, Barricade?!?"

"So why are you just standing there and letting them fight?" Sam asked as he watched the two femmes practically gnaw on each other. Frenzy was obviously getting the upper hand now. Barricade just barely being able to protect herself.

"It seems to be their way of deciding leadership," Optimus informed him.

----

Barricade lay on the ground in a pool of her own energon. Giving her one last kick for good measure, Frenzy spat on her…

"Fucking bitch, you follow me now," she growled. Grabbing the femme's helm, she forced her to struggle to her knees and look up at her. "Give me your slaggin' oath whore! Or I let the mechs use you as a breeder slave," she snarled.

The beaten femme glanced from her to the mechs and back. "Does the yellow femme follow you as well?" she smirked.

Frenzy snarled in rage and hit the femme full force in the face with her knee. Barricade crumpled to the ground in unconsciousness as the silver femme released her grip on her helm. But the damage had been done. That simple comment had revealed the secret for all the mechs within audio range. Which happened to be all of them..

Their mouths fell open as they turned and stared at Bumblebee as if she had grown an extra head. That poor femme began to shake horribly, her optics full of terror. She whimpered in fear as she tried to slink away from them. Yet, before she could take another step back, her escape was stopped by the strong hand of Ratchet as it wrapped itself around her arm. Her vents gasping as if she could not cool herself, the femme looked up at them with such fear it was as if she was looking at the Unmaker himself.

"L-let me go," she barely could whisper as she pulled at her arm, half of her wishing she could just detach it and run.

The medic hook his head, a deep frown being born into existence. Then, pulling her closer, he stated in a hurt and almost cold tone, "Is Barricade telling the truth?"

Bumblebee's optics nearly went white. She threw a pleading look at Frenzy, the other femme seemingly still on the subject, offering no advice. W-wasn't she going to say it was a lie!

"Bumblebee?" said Optimus, his form suddenly coming into view behind the medic's shoulder. With the way the youngling was practically trying to rip off his arm and not laughing in near hysteria, it was obvious that the words were true. "Why didn't you tell us, Bumblebee?"

Bumblebee started to shake her head in almost a sickening speed before she started to all but yell, "Barricade's a liar! She's lying! I'm not a femme. I'm a mech! I can't have sparklings! I can't be bred! I'm not a femme!"

Ratchet's grip just tightened though and her mind was flashed with sickening images of that tight grip holding her down. She yelped in fright, lashing out with a quick punch. The medic let go in a surprised hiccup causing the femme to fall to the ground with a dull crunch. The harsh fall didn't heed in her want to escape though, and Bumblebee found herself trying to scuttle back away from him … away from all the mechs now looking at her with seemingly hunger in their optics. But suddenly her view of them was blocked by a silver chassis. Before she knew what she had done, Bumblebee had wrapped her arms around one of those beautiful legs. She'd be the harsh femme's any day over a mechs. A femme couldn't get a pregnant. A wouldn't share her like a brood mare.

Whimpering, Bumblebee cowered under the silver femme, her blue optics unable to meet those of her former mech friends. They were no longer her friends; they were enemies now. They would steal here freedom, she knew they would try.

"Stay away from her, she is mine," Frenzy growled at the mechs. The energon streaming down her face made her threat even that much more believable. She wasn't afraid to fight. Wasn't afraid to take them all on to protect her property.

The shock still settling in on Bumblebee's team members, the newcomers took it as their responsibility to speak, "Why you ... You're a femme! You are supposed to do what we say!" Sunstreaker snarled. Suddenly, his words were hushed as a yelp escaped him, someone pulling him backwards with a tight grip around one of his arms, so tight it scratched paint.

The yellow mech was still for a minute, knowing the angry nature of Hatchet far too well, but it still didn't still his glossa when he saw that now even more of his paint was ruined. Casting the medic's grasp off, Sunstreaker got in his face plate and growled, "Let me go! You know I'm right! They all should be in someone's berth right now, not playing bloodbath! In fact, I'm sure me and Bumblebee would make some handsome sparklings! I think I'll take her right – ugh!"

The other mechs all stood there in surprise, not use to such an unwarranted attack from none other than Prime. He had came out of nowhere and slammed a harsh fist in the vain mech's face plate. Making him fall back on his aft as he grasped his dented olfactory sensor, squealing in indignation… "Slaggen! Fraggen. Primus …"

"Enough," said the Prime in threateningly deep tones as he threw a deadly glance at the two brothers. "No one touches the femmes unless they give permission!" Then, turning his glare to the femmes themselves, he pointed at Frenzy in almost a hateful manner as if she had been the one to orchestrate the Autobot femme's deception. "You knew about Bumblebee, and you didn't inform us. Why?"

Frenzy met his optics without a lick of fear in her optics. "Because she's mine, and she will not breed with a mech," she replied in a low voice, almost a hiss.

Optimus was silent for a minute as if thinking over what the femme had said long and hard before he stated simply, "She has to breed, Frenzy. The needs of many come over the needs of the few," Optimus challenged. Just as he had to mate Frenzy, when she decided that she was ready to become impregnated, Bee had to do the same. He could tell by the femme's fear that she probably didn't want to breed, but the species survival came over the want of one. It was truth no one liked, but it was the truth just the same.

Frenzy snorted. Reaching down, she grabbed the trembling femme's arm and forcing her to her peds. Nodding at the groaning form of Barricade, she snickered. "He, he, you have another strong Decepticon femme now. You don't need Bumblebee!" And with that she began to drag the terrified yellow femme towards the warehouse.

Ratchet was about to go after the two departing femmes, but the still tall and sober form of Optimus put out an arm. Once he was sure the femme was out of range, he stated simply, "She may think she has won this argument, but she has not. This is still a team effort and one member cannot be disengaged from the team and expect it to run just a smoothly. We will deal with that later. For now, drag Barricade into the medical bay."

----

Frenzy dragged the sobbing femme into her room. Surrounding the weak femme with her silver arms, she pulled her to her chest plate as she sat down on her berth. Holding the Autobot as she wept, Frenzy couldn't help but note that something inside her felt strange. It was an emotion that the hard femme hadn't felt since the last time she'd held Rumble as they'd listened to the screams of the breeding slaves echoing through the halls of the Decepticon base. She felt a need to protect the femme in her arms. Just as she'd failed to do for Rumble so long ago.

"They know Frenzy," Bee sobbed. "They're going to force me to… to.." Her chassis shook with terror, her vents struggling.

Tightening her arms around her, Frenzy shook her head. "I told you that you were mine. And I don't share," she purred in an almost soothing voice.

"But-but you heard Prime," she stammered in between sobs.

Frenzy started to snicker. Her snickering grew louder and louder, until finally Bee wiped her optics and looked up at the femme in confusion. "Little Bee, Optimus leads the mechs – not us… Not the femmes. I lead the femmes," the silver femme snickered. She caressed the energon coated upturned face, with an almost loving expression. "Remember, together we are strong. We only breed when we agree to it. This is what I told you in the beginning, he, he, he – do you not remember?"

"But Barricade, she -"

Frenzy cut her off. "I've beaten her fairly, he, he, he. She shall submit to me as leader. That is the way it is," she snickered. Licking her glossa across Bee's streaked face plate; she tasted the metallic flavor of her tears. "I am leader and you are my femme mate, he,he, he.. You shall learn to stand up to the mechs, he, he," she smirked.

"But.. But you said you won't share. Th – That they have Barricade, so they don't need me.." Bumblebee whispered a pleading edge to her voice.

"Indeed, he, he, indeed I did," Frenzy purred as she took her lips.

----

_Note: I gotta thank PAW07 for taking a break from her break to get back with me so quickly. And thanks to those of you who have taken the time to review. Tomorrow the final chapter will be published and the movieverse '09 sequel begins…. More shockers since I know which characters are coming back! (evil laugh)_


	20. Ancestry

**Ancestry**

"How is she?" Optimus asked Ratchet as he studied the unconscious femme lying on the repair table. Barricade had taken a hard beating, her armor dripping fluids from a thousand rips.

Ratchet paused in his repairs for a second. "She'll make it, but as damaged as she is, I'm sure Frenzy's got some injuries as well," he grumbled. "Damn vicious 'Con femmes!" he muttered under his breath as he turned back to his work. Primus, why couldn't they have had two Autobot femmes going out at it? There would have at least been a real reason behind it at least and not some meaningless madness.

"Who gives a damn about that freagin' mean ass silver bitch! Just look at what she did to me!" Sunstreaker wailed as he fingered his damaged armor. He wished the freagin' medic would hurry up and finish his work on the ghastly femme, a femme he'd never touch by the way. He was ONLY going to touch Bumblebee and have her in his berth. He was not going to filthy himself with some disgusting, not to mention ugly, 'Con femmes.

"Oh, shut your trap, or I'll give you even more damage to bitch about," Ironhide grumbled as he paced back-and-forth. Bumblebee was a femme. He just couldn't believe that he'd trained her for all these vorns and had never once realized it! Ugh, what had he missed! He had gone over countless memories thinking that he had ignored the truth on purpose but he still couldn't find anything!

"Well, someone needs to go in her room and gauge the extent of her damage," Ratchet harrumphed as he did some more welding on Barricade. Glancing up at her face plate, he fought his urge to shudder. Those teeth were sharp! She'd probably try to behead her next mate after she contemplated. Silently, he thanked Primus that he'd already sired two little femmes. He could always bring that fact up when it came time to decide who'd breed Barricade. He'd be more than happy to never copulate again!

Optimus sighed as he drummed his fingers against his side. He knew that there was a distinct possibility that the pissed off silver femme would coat the first mech who dared to approach her with a significant amount of pink paint balls. And he really didn't feel like scraping his armor off again. Besides, he had to think of the Bumblebee predicament. He would not ignore the fact that there was a femme on the base that was no offering to the effort of repopulation. Frenzy thought she had all the power, but then again she forgot that she could not reproduce without a mech. He had half the power as well. After all, Frenzy didn't have much choice in the matter. It was either follow some of Primes rules or be raped by the 'Cons. It wasn't an idea he liked, but it wasn't something he should remind Frenzy up the next time the issue of Bumblebee came to light.

"Well, she's got a thing for Ironhide, so why don't you go and talk with her?" Mikaela asked as she looked up at the big black mech, having been filled in when Ratchet dragged in a beaten Barricade.

Prime nodded at the suggestion, "Yes, Ironhide. You were Bumblebee's guardian, and Frenzy has a liking of you. It would be best for you to estimate the damage Frenzy has."

Ironhide looked from one-to-the-other, his expression showing his trepidation about entering that particular room. But he'd handled femmes with worse tempers than hers, so with a shrug he walked down the hall.

----

"Shhhhh, he, he, I'll teach you little Bee," Frenzy said softly to Bee as she cradled her tightly to her chest plates. Yes, the yellow femme was her property, and no one – NO ONE – was going to so much as touch the Autobot femme without her consent and Frenzy's permission, period. Lowering her head, she cradled her femme-mate while her meta envisioning Rumble in her arms.

Ironhide slid in the room silently, his optics widening in surprise by what he saw. The battered silver femme was cradling Bumblebee against her. Murmuring words of promise, of protection to the sobbing yellow femme. He was seeing a side of Frenzy he didn't think existed in the harsh femme. She truly had a softness inside. A softness that she hidden under layers of wariness and distrust for her entire life. Cocking his head, he watched in amazement. His optics now studied the silver femme in a whole different light.

Hearing the slight sound of movement, Frenzy jerked her head up. Her optics instantly spotted the black mech with ease. "How dare you come in without permission!" she snarled.

Bumblebee looked up, terror in her optics as she saw the mech studying her. Whimpering, she sank against Frenzy's silver armor.

Ironhide shrugged dismissively at Frenzy's implied threat. "Ratchet wanted to know the extent of your damage. So I'm here to evaluate you," he stated as he walked up to the pair.

Bee shuddered as she shied away from him, her optics wild with fear as if he has just said he had come to rape her.

Frowning, the black mech looked at his former charge. He was saddened and appalled by the swift change in her behavior towards him now that he knew her secret. Why? Why was she so afraid of being a femme? He studied her face; the level of fear showing in her optics just appalled him. Was the thought of breeding truly that terrifying to her? Why? Well, he decided it didn't matter; he needed to get her to understand she was safe around him. The breeding issue could come later, not that he personally had any want to be with his old charge.

In a blur of motion, he grabbed Bumblebee's arm before she could dart behind Frenzy. Ignoring the silver femme's warning glare, he pulled Bumblebee towards him, forcing her optics to meet his own. "Let's get one thing straight between us, Bumblebee. I only want to mate with one femme in this room, and it's not you. End of story! You got that. Now calm down and stop acting like I'm going to take you here on Frenzy's berth," he said in a low voice.

A long whine, like a dog dying, escaped the femme as she tugged uselessly at her arm. They, swallowing the whine, she whispered, "Y… You won't force me?"

Ironhide let her go, a sadness coming to his optics for a moment, "I practically raised you like a son-uh-daughter, Bumblebee. I'd never touch you in that way. Besides, I have optics for only one femme," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice as he looked a Frenzy.

Bumblebee stared up at him in total disbelief, before shying away and whispering, "Thank you, Ironhide. I don't want to be bred. Not by anyone!".

The black mech felt the old urge to pat her helm in the same comforting fashion that he always had, but he had a feeling that touching her was not the best thing to do at the moment. Instead, he let her shy back over towards Frenzy, his optics never leaving his old charge. "Hate to insult your new found … uh … womanhood, but I'll never be interested in you like that. You are like a daughter to me," he replied.

Bumblebee gave him a tiny nod, crawling up on the berth beside Frenzy, still unable to look at him. She was happy for those words, nonetheless. He was like a father to her in a way. And now even more so, since he was the first mech that she now knew she could trust not to touch her. Ironhide was a mech who'd never in a million years want to mate with her.

Frenzy began to snicker, her optics scanning the black mech with amusement. "So you freely admit that I'm your type? He, he, he, ironic," she smirked.

Ironhide gained a slightly sloppy grin as he scanned the silver femme's chassis. Sure enough, she was also moderately damaged, but the pain did not seem to bother her one bit. She was a damned tough cookie - which made her even sexier to him. "What can I say, you're so much like Chromia was – I just can't resist," he answered with a wink.

Suddenly, Frenzy's expression changed. She jerked as if hit by a large caliber bullet. "Chromia?" she asked warily. Her optics narrowed suspiciously. "What do you know of Chromia?" she snarled.

Ironhide arched an optic ridge at her sudden change at the name of his long-dead mate. "She was my bond mate once," he informed her, "Why?"

Frenzy folded her arms, staring at him hard. "What happened to her?" she demanded to know.

Now this conversation was going to a place that Ironhide never discussed. Taking a step back, his posture stiffening into one of defense, he locked optics with the femme. "She's dead now, it doesn't matter," he stated in a tone that said he didn't want to discuss it further.

Jumping lightly off the berth, the hyper femme limped around him. A strange emotion in her blue optics, "It does matter, he, he, tell me what happened to her!" she demanded.

Ironhide gulped as the guilt he'd suppressed so long ago, now threatened to overwhelm him once again. But there was a reason that Frenzy was demanding the information. What is was – he couldn't even begin to fathom.

"Tell me!" she growled ominously.

"She was kidnapped. We never found her. After what the cons did to all the femmes – well, her fate was obvious," Ironhide said in a harsh tone, desperately trying not to break down and sob in front of the tough femme.

Frenzy cocked her helm as she studied him. "Was she pregnant with you when she was kidnapped?" she asked.

He couldn't help it, his old tough-mech barriers crumbling as if his castle of stone was actually a castle of sand being consumed by the waves. Soon, tears of his sorrow began to flow slowly down his faceplate. "No. No, she and I had decided it was too risky. So we… never… truly mated," he said, his voice breaking with his emotions.

Stopping her pacing in front of him, Frenzy met his tormented optics. "Chromia was the only breeder slave to ever escape," she said in a low tone.

Ironhide drew a breath in - in total shock at the revelation. "She-she did?!?" he gasped. Leaning forward, he grabbed the silver femme's shoulders. "But what happened to her. Why did she never return to us?!" he cried in anguish.

Frenzy studied him for a brief moment. "Because she birthed alone, and the twins she carried accidentally punctured one of her primary energon lines as they were born," she said, her cold voice having a strange tone to it.

"She had sparklings?!?" Ironhide sobbed in despair, knowing full well that since he had never fully mated with her that those sparklings had been sired by a Con. She'd been brutally raped then just as all the femmes that the Decepticons had were. Despite the horrible revelation, pride swelled within him. Pride that his femme had been tough enough to dare to break out… To birth her sparklings in freedom – give them a chance to escape even as she died. "D – did they survive?" he dared to ask. To hope that maybe, just maybe they had. That there was a piece of Chromia's spark fire still alive!

Her demeanor changed. Optics filling with a haunted, far away look - the silver femme nodded. "She managed to hang on for a couple day cycles longer," she said, her voice getting softer. She shifted her optics, staring at the ground as she remembered. "She told us… Told us that we had to hide… Had to survive… Had to be strong," her voice broke with emotion, for the first time the Autobots saw her optics fill with tears. "After she died, Rumble and I lived on the streets. Scrounging for what we could find. Hiding from all mechs we saw. When we were old enough, we joined with the cons – as young mechs," she finished. Turning away from the mech, she slammed her fists down on the berth, rage showing in her every bolt.

"My god! You're… You're her daughter?!?" Ironhide choked, his emotions a blend of sorrow and elation. Frenzy was Chromia's last surviving sparkling! No wonder she reminded him so much of her mother. Her temper.. Her spunk.. Her sharpness of meta.. It all had come from her mother! That half of her spark which he had so cherished. Stepping forward, he put his hands on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around as he pulled her tightly to him. His optics locked with Bumblebee's as he held the trembling silver femme. The yellow femme had the same conflicting expression on her face as well as she pulled her knees into her chest.

He pulled the silver femme from him, holding her at arms length as he studied her every feature. Grinding his dental plates together, he wondered what he should say. For he had already grown attached to her over the last Earth year, and now to know who her mother had been! "You know I … Love you Frenzy," he stammered, uncertain if the tough femme would appreciate the true depth of his emotional attachment to her. "Even before today... Before everything … I'd grown to love you for the tough bitch you are," he finished.

Her optics scanned him intently as she considered her own emotions. She'd always secretly prided herself on being born to the one slave that had died in freedom. The one slave who'd been too tough for the Cons to ever really break! And this tough-as-nails mech had been her mother's mate once. Had been strong enough for that femme to consider her equal! Yes, Frenzy had also been attracted to the same traits that it appeared her mother had been. Ironhide was tough, strong and fearless. The perfect soldier in her meta. The perfect partner in her future quests of revenge.

She glanced sideways at Bumblebee. The yellow femme now stared at Ironhide in disbelief as he gave his oath of love. But there was no room in Frenzy's current life to take a true mech bond mate. She was forced to take different mates with every cycle. And it would be that way for the foreseeable future. "I can't allow myself to feel the same way Ironhide – you know that," she told him.

Starting a bit, his optics narrowed for a second. Then he realized why the femme said that. "But you do feel the same way – don't you?" he asked.

Frenzy snorted, but she did give a slight nod. "You are the perfect mech, Ironhide, he, he," she replied. But then her optics grew cold again. "But I cannot feel that way towards a mech – only a femme - right now," she added as she nodded to Bumblebee.

Ironhide squinted his optics for a brief moment as he contemplated their situation. And then a light bulb seemed to come on. "I can accept you breeding other mechs; we know that you have to. But if Bumblebee doesn't mind sharing…." He said his optics meeting the yellow femme's, silently pleading for her to agree.

Frenzy hummed as she leaned back and contemplated. "So you are asking to be my mech mate? My bond mate. But without exclusive breeding rights?" she asked.

"And you'll never want to bond with me?" Bumblebee asked, her optics pleading for him to re-iterate that position.

He nodded eagerly. "If that's what it takes – yep!" he replied.

The two femmes exchanged a glance. And then Frenzy turned back to face him. "But how will you, he, he, handle the thought of me with, he, he, other mechs?" she asked, her normal snickering once again entering her speech.

He patted her shoulder and winked at her. "I can show you so many ways of overloading, without copulating, that you'll be wishing it was me the entire time," he whispered in a conspiratorial tone.

She snorted, turning up her olfactory sensor to him. Her optics gleamed with challenge. "Really?!? Perhaps you should prove that, and, he, he, if I'm impressed I might agree to be a trio," she challenged.

Bumblebee could say nothing of the other femme's promise as Frenzy and Ironhide kissed like to old lovers. There had been too much for one day. She just wanted to rest and hide from the world in this dark corner of the berth. Moving to the corner of the room, she willed herself to just shut down into the blessed peacefulness of defrag. But her meta wouldn't let her. In fascination, she silently watched the pair in their passion. Silently learning that 'play' between mech and femme wasn't all that different from the 'play' that she and Frenzy had been secretly engaging in for the last year..

-----

"So why not let us have Bee then? You all can have the con femmes." Sideswipe smirked as he leaned against the metal wall. Like the others, he was standing around watching Ratchet the Hatchet repair Barricade. And just like the other Autobots, he didn't think much of her looks. Granted, when a mech considered how Decepticon mechs looked – it made some sense. The cons were just into intimidation. They had no use for beauty. So functionality was all they cared about. Maybe Ratchet could do something about her dental plates? It would help the whole appearance thing a little.

His smirk was short lived – for he was soon on the ground. His hands on his helm as he exclaimed 'ouch' at the surprise throw of a very well-aimed wrench. Sunstreaker jumped up, ready to get into it with the medic over it all.

"Sit down Sunstreaker – or you'll REMAIN in your damaged condition!" Ratchet growled, and everyone knew that it was no threat indeed. The medic knew where the yellow mech's weakness was – and it wouldn't be the first time he'd exploited it. Finishing up with the installation of yet another new hose in Barricade's right side, he slammed down her hood and glared at the twins. "The femmes only breed to whom they agree to – and when they agree to – period!"

Barricade slowly sat up as the medic moved away from her. She was still badly damaged, but the rest could wait. Actually, she didn't mind waiting at all – for this interplay between mechs was highly entertaining to say the least. The fact that Frenzy had seemed to set down some concrete rules concerning mech/femme mating relations impressed her. Perhaps it WAS a good thing that one of the smart conniving hackers had been the first femme to come out of hiding? Frenzy's ability to manipulate mechs would be a strength for the femmes.

To top it off, the cruiser loved the fact that the Autobot mechs weren't too interested in her – or Frenzy from the sounds of it. Forcing a mech to breed against his will seemed like a satisfying taste of a little revenge. Shifting her optics to the gorgeous yellow mech, she rather lewdly began to slowly scan over every linkage…Every servo.. As Sunstreaker felt her stare and met her optics with a look of total repulsion – she snickered and gave him a very suggestive wink. Amazingly, he backed up a step and tried desperately to get out of her direct line of vision. His engine choking in disgust… The femme's low chuckle caught everyone's attention then.

"Wow! Ratchet, you changed her voice??" Sam stared up at the femme as she shifted to make herself more comfortable. Visions of her coming at him, threatening him with the deepest of male voices to lead them to the AllSpark flashed through his mind. But her chuckle had been more like that of Oprah or something. And what was it about the Decepticon femmes all ending up with black women voices or something anyway???

"Yes, I assumed that since you are out of hiding – that would be satisfactory?" the green mech asked. He was polite to her, though still tense and on guard. The last time he'd first run across a Decepticon femme… Well… He'd rather not repeat it.

"Affirmative." She glanced at Prime, giving him the same once-over that had made Sunstreaker so uncomfortable. "I agree with your statement, medic. Apparently we Decepticons are more willing than your weak Autobot femmes," she snickered. True, Bumblebee had beaten her on the battlefield, but as a femme – the true winner would be the one who procreated more. So, in the end it would obviously be her and Frenzy that would triumph.

"Ewwww, like we'd ever – ughh!" Sunstreaker grunted as Prime smacked his helm. Backing up even further, he got behind Sideswipe and clamped his trap shut. Glaring at them all like a kid busted for smoking in the bathroom.

Optimus had noticed the way the cruiser was studying each and every one of them. He could tell that it actually PLEASED her that she repulsed them to a point. Why did all con femmes have to be so quirky?!? He now had two of the freaks to deal with! Willing himself to not show his growing unease in front of the femme, he simply nodded. "I agree. You con femmes seem to show more bravery in the face of the dangers you face." He hoped she would take it as the compliment he meant it to be. It grated him to put down Bumblebee like this – but… He'd deal with her issues soon. Perhaps he could talk her into at least considering mechs?

Puffing her shoulder plates out in pride, Barricade smirked. She knew what he was referring to. Or should we say – who he was referring to. "And I am prepared to discuss a proposition for first mating right." Did she want to have the leader? She scanned his chassis again. Not quite as impressive as Megatron's had once been – but he was the strongest mech left functioning. Having his get might put her in a stronger position as well.

A little shocked at her bluntness, Prime stepped back a step and shook his head. He was very VERY thankful that his 'breeding rights' were already agreed upon with another femme right now. It was a heck of an excuse. Barricade's demeanor was really creeping him out to be honest. It was like he was a T-bone steak and she a starving wolf! "I'm already promised to Frenzy's next cycle," he replied. His core relaxed in relief. The prospect of mating Frenzy was enough stress for a mech!

The cruiser nodded, not surprised in the least that Frenzy had already made verbal contracts concerning this. "Who else is promised to her?"

"Ironhide is the next. She's already had mine," Ratchet replied. His audios could hear the tale-tell sounds of the sparklings playing in the next room. Mikaela made such a good sparkling sitter!

"Hmmm," Barricade's optics settled on the twins. Neither of whom looked happy in the least. "Since the Autobot femme refuses to breed – then you two are mine to choose from."

Sunstreaker's optics got wide in shock. "There's no way in Primus I'm ever going to-"

"Shut up Sun! You will – just as we all will!" Optimus glowered down at the shorter mech.

"What about Bumblebee – huh?!? You gonna let that little liar do as she pleases?!? What about team work and all that?!?" The yellow mech swelled up, not afraid of taking on the bigger mech in the least.

"Bumblebee ain't gonna be touched by nobody. 'Cept for Frenzy that is." Ironhide's booming voice filled the repair bay. Every single being turned and stared at him in shock as he entered. The black mech was unusually relaxed, a sloppy grin on his face plate. He gave Prime a friendly slap on his shoulder armor as he walked by him. "Nice day ain't it old timer?" he grinned.

Dread filled Sam as he more than recognized that so-human expression. "You…You got with Frenzy – didn't you?" he squeaked. Visions of a thousand freaky sparklings chasing him and his dog filled his mind….

"Yep! Ya sure are a sharp one," the black mech chuckled.

"But the deal…" Optimus narrowed his optics as he met Ironhide's. It wasn't that he really wanted to mate the freaky femme, but he wanted sparklings. The species needed the sparklings. And there HAD been an agreement.

"Aww, don't ya worry 'ol Prime. We just been playin' 'round. Gotta teach her a bit 'foe ya get her pregnant." Ironhide's grin turned into a devilish smirk.

Optimus felt the urge to run screaming out of the warehouse and hiding under the nearest overpass. A groan escaped his lips as his worst fear materialized right before his optics. He'd be with a Chromia… A temperamental femme – trained by Ironhide in all sorts of S&M type activities. Why'd those two HAVE to fall for each other NOW??? Shaking his head in disbelief, he slapped himself on the helm a few times in the hope that this was all a bad dream. But it wasn't… And he couldn't back out of it either…

"How's Bumblebee doing?" Mikaela's voice interrupted. The mechs all looked down at her, and the two sparklings that were now dancing around them, staring up at the two new mechs in curiosity. The girl clucked her tongue at them before they could start poking at Sunstreaker. With a flurry of indecipherable beeps, the femme twins transformed. With a smile, the teen picked up the two cell phones.

"Well, she's plain scared," Ironhide replied with a shrug, "I don't exactly know why. But she's terrified of the thought of mating with a mech."

"But she's been with Frenzy a while – hasn't she?" Ratchet said - his voice somewhat accusatory. He was beginning to think back. Think back on all those times the two had sped off in a 'race'. Races that he now suspected weren't races at all, but merely convenient excuses for some secret alone time.

"Femmes teach femmes," Barricade cut in with a nod. Her tone was matter-of-fact. As if it was no big deal for a femme to fear mechs but bond with other femmes.

"What do you mean by this?" Optimus asked. He hoped that the con femme could shed some light on why Bumblebee was like this. And perhaps this might help explain why con femmes were so different from Autobot?

The cruiser gave a dismissive shrug. "We bond with each other. Teach each other. That is how young femmes learn."

"Hmmm, much like how we have been," Ratchet mused.

Mikaela looked from mech-to-mech her mind running fast. She'd seen the whole thing. Saw the terror in Bee's optics when her secret had been exposed. Was it all because she'd been alone as a femme? Did their species really need to start basically as 'gay' to train them to be 'straight'. Ok, this was weird for sure. But she didn't want to see Bumblebee forced to have sparklings. That would be simply horrible. "Um, guys?"

"Yes Mikaela?" Optimus knelt down, politely giving her his attention.

"Maybe Bumblebee's terrified because she wasn't raised with other femmes." She swallowed hard as she looked up at the intimidating façade of Barricade. "Maybe she just needs time for them to train her or something?" she said in a hopeful voice.

Ratchet rubbed his chin, deep in contemplation. "Hmmm, an interesting theory."

Standing up, Prime nodded to the medic. "Do you think it's possible?"

Glancing at the con femme still sitting on his repair table, Ratchet went through every detail of what Frenzy had told him about femmes and their 'culture'. "There is that distinct possibility."

"So maybe if you guys just like back off, she'll eventually come around?" Mikaela's conviction was becoming stronger now as she saw the change in their demeanor concerning her friend.

Optimus thought long and hard, rubbing his chin as he did so. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to his men again. His expression now one of confident decision… "Mikaela has brought up a good point. We shall wait until after Frenzy has her third pregnancy. See if time and femme training will make Bumblebee more accepting of her role. Until then, it is absolutely banned for any mech to make any kind of advance towards her."

There were nods of agreement all around. No mech was happy that Bumblebee wasn't willing to jump on any of their berths. But at least this gave them some kind of plan. Some kind of hope that at least one of them might eventually woo the femme into their room like that….

-------

_Three months has passed… Yeah… three months…._

Optimus groaned in exacerbation. Was he going to HAVE to chain down Sunstreaker himself in order to force the mech to do the deed?!? Barricade stormed by him once again. Transforming, the femme began tracking the fleeing mech. Her guns full of paint balls in order to make the rejection far worse for HIM than it was for her. In a way, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this 'chase' of a mech. She seemed to LIKE making Sunstreaker's life absolutely miserable. "Decepticons…" Prime muttered under his breath. These femmes went way beyond his understanding….

"Hey Prime, could ya take this to Sam for me?" Ironhide came up behind him, his arms full of a heavy looking large crate. It had the words 'Hot tub' written along its side.

"What is it?" He looked at it rather curiously. He did have a general idea of what a 'tub' was. But what was the 'hot' all about? It didn't scan hot in the infrared spectrum.

"Aw, just some weird contraption he bought. Wants to surprise Mikaela, so he's got a place rented. Here's the coordinates," Ironhide said. WiFi link initiated and the address was downloaded straight into Prime's navigational arrays.

Having nothing better to do – other than worrying about mechs not following orders concerning reproduction – Prime nodded his consent and transformed. Backing up to a trailer, he waited as Ironhide secured the rather small load. "Keep your optic on the base until I get back," he ordered as he pulled out.

"Aye-aye sir," Ironhide quipped. His commander never noticed the mischievous smirk that crossed his face plate. With a bound in his stride, the Weapons specialist went back into the warehouse. It'd be a while before Prime came back. And when he did, maybe he'd have learned to enjoy a little bondage?? Or maybe not. Either way, he'd never have to 'share' Frenzy again. As long as Optimus got her pregnant the first go around.

Sitting down at the computer, Ironhide began to websurf. He'd decided that it really wasn't too hard to share his femme mate. Especially when he knew the mech wasn't going to exactly enjoy the encounter… Optimus was such a freagin' softy, a little hardcore stuff would do him some good..

-----

"He, he, he, like a fish on a reel," Frenzy snickered as his optics activated. Giving the chained mech a pat, she plopped her tail pipes down on his abdominal armor. "For a Prime, he, he, he, you're sure easy to knock out!"

Optimus would've shot back that a Prime doesn't exactly expect his troops to set up an electrified booby trap – but he couldn't. Along with being chained spread eagled – he was also gagged. Needless to say, he knew who was the most likely suspect in teaching the femme this mating ritual – and he was most certainly going to give Ironhide a piece of his meta when he got back to the warehouse. Though that wasn't his most pressing problem right now… That problem happened to be sitting rather nonchalantly on top of him at the moment.

"Watch this, he, he, he," Frenzy snickered deviously as she slipped the long tips of her digits into the seams between his armor plates. Deftly, she stroked sensitive servos and linkages beneath, causing unexpected sensations to flow through the big mech.

Shivering, Prime realized that the femme must have decided that she was ready to mate. Frankly, he didn't know whether he should be thrilled – or terrified. Considering the current situation, perhaps the second choice was the appropriate one? Trying to talk through the gag, he attempted to order her to set him free. Nothing came out but muffled tones though. Rocking his head back and forth, he tried to loosen the knot behind his helm.

That when he saw her there…

Bumblebee sat off to the side of them. Her door wings leaned up against the metal wall of the large storage shed. She had pulled her knees up to her hood, encircling them with her arms and setting her chin on top. Blue optics bore into him as she made it obvious that she was there to observe.

Frenzy snickered as she felt the mech tense up underneath her. Spinning around, she snickered as she lay belly down on top of him, hands crossed over his chest armor and chin propped up on them. Waiting for the mech to focus on her, she tapped him. As if slightly impatient perhaps? "He, he, he, shy type Opti?" she teased. In a blur, she was straddling him. Bending down she gave him a rather lewd kiss. Which wasn't exactly a kiss considering the gag barrier between them… "My femme mate needs to, he, he, watch you know," she snickered with a nod towards the silent yellow femme.

Not sure that he was comfortable with that… Well HELL – he wasn't comfortable with any of this! But he was trapped! Primus was he going to so kick Ironhide's tail pipes for teaching the femme all this! Optimus could do nothing but nod. He trembled as the freaky femme slowly worked her way down his chassis. Opening panels… Exploring his circuits… Sensations of pleasure mixed with a little pain whenever she'd pull too roughly on sensitive wires. Through it all, he kept his optics locked onto Bumblebee. Watching the fearful femme as she watched him…

He arched up as Frenzy's digits slid between his thighs. A gasp escaped through even the gag as she nipped at his latched codpiece with her dental plates. Anticipation flooded his interface networks as latched were unlocked with agonizing slowness. Thin digits sliding along his retracted transfer for the very first time.. His optics threatened to roll back into his helm at the intensity of it all..

Hands clenched as pain from a nip to the sensitive armor of the inside of his thigh.. Taken over instead by a strange tingling when her glossa swiped over his transfer…. His processor screamed to activate his transfer. He fought it, for the femme wasn't in position. The femme was just teasing him.. Taunting him..

Gasping, he spread his legs as far as the chains would allow. Those digits caressing him felt so incredible! He didn't mind the slight pain from the constant little nips here and there anymore.. A digit slid into his tail pipe then. Sliding in-and-out… Teasing him like another mech would play with him. His optics opened wide in slight surprise for the briefest of seconds, before he succumbed to another round of reactionary shivers… Unable to stop himself, his transfer activated, extending out of its protective sheath.. Searching for the femme connection…

"He, he, see Bee. Mechs just can't control themselves." Frenzy raised up her head, giving the big mech another nip as she met her femme mate's optics. "Come here, he, he. Let me show you something."

Hesitantly, Bumblebee came over. Sure, she'd watched Ironhide and Frenzy play. But not only had the two never gone quite this far – but she'd never come up close. She'd never really wanted to. And here… Here was her commander, all tied up, his transfer out and ready… She'd never wanted to see Optimus like this. Never wanted to see the proof that he was nothing but a mech… A mech desperate to connect with a femme spark.. Her spark pulsed wildly as she stopped next to Frenzy. Her own digits shaking now…

"He, he, don't worry little Bee, it's mine – not he, he, he - yours!" the silver femme snickered. Nodding for Bee to sit down, she gave her a smirk as she flicked her glossa against the terminal end. The gag didn't do much to muffle Prime's reaction as he just about levitated off the concrete. "Watch this, he, he," she said as she stroked his jack.

Bumblebee stared in shock at the big mech's reaction. Her mouth hung open in shock as he arched and rolled his head in abandon. "They're all like this?" she whispered to Frenzy.

Stroking her hand to keep the mech going, Frenzy nodded. "Yep, he, he, get a hold of their transfer – and they're all he, he, he, yours! That's the power of being femme."

With a shaky hand, Bumblebee touched Optimus's side armor. Heat seemed to be pouring off him. His engine revving so high she was afraid he might throw a rod or something. She was terrified to be this close to a mech ready to bond – but excited as well. She felt the sense of power that Frenzy had over him. The control…. Sitting up, she took Frenzy's lips even as her mate continued to tease Prime. Their glossas dancing in a well practiced dance to an unheard tune.

Through the haze of passion, Optimus's meta saw a fantasy. Two femmes focused more on each other now – than on him. Even as Frenzy continued to stroke him into a frenzy stronger than her name – her engine revved in reaction to the other femme… Prime felt himself becoming more of an observer to a femme bonding – than a participant..

For a short while, the stroking stopped, allowing Optimus to regain a measure of his composure. Not that it really mattered right now. But his fans increased as he cooled his internal temperature down. His meta still reeling over what he'd been witness to. His transfer still activated… Still aching to interface.. Still in the hand of Frenzy – who was slowly rebooting along with Bumblebee.

She blinked her optics a few times as they refocused. "He, he, he, oops – forgot you were here," she snickered. Sitting up, her exposed receiver slid over his transfer. So close… So very close.. Prime wanted to scream in frustration as she teased him yet more. He could feel her lubricant coat his armor. Lubricant caused by her play with Bumblebee…

Honestly, he didn't know which was more agonizing: the pain from nips in sensitive places – or the tease lesbo show that had gone on nearly on top of him! He chewed on the gag – wishing he could just simply order her to finish the mating. Give him some relief!

"Mmmm," Bee murmured as she rebooted. She startled a bit as she realized that she was lying with her torso across Optimus's. With a heating of her face plate, she rather hurriedly sat up. "Oh, uh, yeah.." she stammered in embarrassment. She'd gotten so engrossed in the femme bonding play – she'd actually forgotten all about him.

Frenzy snickered and took her lips again for a brief kiss. "He, he, needed you to get me all hot and bothered… He, he, Prime just don't do it for me," she snickered as she reached up and pinched one of his sensitive audio receptors, causing him to wince. "You're just like all of them, he, he, typical."

"Are you gonna?" Bumblebee stammered, looking down between them at the shaft standing ready. She still didn't like being this close and all, but it was easier when Frenzy wasn't with Ironhide. Ironhide was too much like a father to her. Prime? Well, he was just another mech – right? Just another mech….

"He, he, go ahead," Frenzy urged. She stroked the jack between them a couple of times.

"Go ahead what?" She had no idea what her femme mate wanted her to do. This whole situation was as terrifying – as it was strangely exciting…

"Touch it. He, he, once we mate it'll disappear into the sheath again." Frenzy grinned, her other hand slipping along Bee's armor. That beautiful yellow armor that was all hers… For now..

"Uh, I don't know." Bee stared down at it, fairly sure that it was staring back up at her. She swore she could feel Optimus's optics boring into her door wings about right now, even though he was now bucking in time with Frenzy's strokes.

"He, he, he, come on chicken. Just touch it once." Grabbing one of Bee's trembling hands, Frenzy slowly directed it to the shaft, forcing the digits to curl around it… Trapping them there under her own.. "He, he, do this. It really makes their metas black out." With her hand over Bee's, she began to stroke him in long, slow motions.

A muffled moan escaped the gag… Now the big mech's peds were even shivering.. His processors becoming overwhelmed by the incredible stimuli they were causing. Throwing his helm back hard against the concrete, thoughts no longer passed through his meta. All he knew was pleasure… All he longed for was release. His spark field expanded as it sought the femme connection.. As it sought full interface…

"He, he, he, that's enough." Frenzy nodded for Bumblebee to slide off. And with a final kiss to her, she positioned herself for the transfer and lowered herself down onto the trembling mech. His thick shaft slid within her. Going deeper… deeper … Until connection was achieved… Both femme and mech threw their helms back and screamed in ecstasy as their sparks briefly merged into one…

Bumblebee was still shaking a full minute after the two had gone silent in overload shutdown. The intensity of what she'd witnessed was almost too much for her to handle. She had to handle it though. Frenzy and Barricade had both told her that this was how femmes were trained. And this would be the first of many matings she would have to witness.

Hesitantly, Bee crawled up next to the unconscious pair. Giving her femme mate a tender kiss, she then stared long and hard at Optimus. Reaching up, she dared to run a shaking digit across his face plate… His dark optics were no threat now. No silent accusations waited within their depths like when they were activated. Her digits slipped over his lips. Lips she still knew without a doubt were waiting for her to agree.

With a repulsed shudder, she removed her hand. She knew they were all waiting.. All biding their time until after Frenzy had Ironhide's sparklings. But Bee was still counting down the time in dread. She had three more Earth years now. Just three more… Then the mechs… The mechs would begin demanding again..

Moving away from the pair, Bumblebee wedged herself into the corner. Nausea threatened to overwhelm her at the very thought of a transfer burying itself within her. Of a mech spark invading her very core. Of being forced to carry a sparkling to term. She'd rather spend a thousand breems taking care of the violent new sparklings than that! Rather be a young mech the rest of her life!

----

_A few days later…_

"Optimus, we have a problem," Ratchet said. His tone was one of deadly seriousness.

Prime came over and looked at the readouts. His battle processor coming on line as he saw the readings he'd come to dread. The war was returning. Of that, he was sure… Glancing back at the two femme sparklings and group of drone sparklings who were all trying to play a game of twister – he knew that they had to be kept out of it.

Standing up, he gave a resigned sigh. "Tell Sunstreaker to take the Decepticon femmes and sparklings – and to hide. He is to protect them with his life, for Barricade and Frenzy can never be seen by the other cons – or they're dead."

"And Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked, his optics still locked on the sensor information, his core filling with dread at the vision of impending doom.

"We can't risk having all the femmes together. She comes with us. As a mech scout." Prime's optics were full of determination. He had a sparkling on the way. This new threat must be stopped! His optics followed the happy antics of the drone sparklings. Those sparklings were the ones sparked by the AllSpark fragment. In most circumstances, they would've most certainly been destroyed for they would never fully mature into breeing-able mechs. But now, any mech life was important… They would be protected along with the full sparklings…

"Logical…" was all Ratchet said. With a heavy core, he left his daughters in the care of their mother. Their mother and Barricade who were the masters of disguise… Their only hope of staying undetected…

The Autobots rolled out to meet their fate. Leaving two Decepticon femmes, a lone Autobot gladiator and a handful of sparklings to dart amongst the terrain of the Earth…. To hide amongst the humans…. To keep the spark of hope for the species alive – even if they themselves died…

---

_Note: Ok, got a little carried away with this one. Added a bunch after PAW07 sent it back to me. So the smex is a surprise to her as well….._

_And now we wait for the '09 movie release… So who knows how much time shall pass before the surviving mechs reunite with the protectors of the sparklings… Or who will survive to come back.._


	21. Prequel to Matter of Pride

_Note: This chapter is a prequel to the next book in this tale. This book will focus solely on Frenzy, Sunstreaker, Barricade and the group of sparklings they are charged with protecting. So it will NOT spoil the '09 movie sequel for any of you – promise! I'll wait until after the Revenge of the Fallen has been out a while before I start the section where the rest of the characters come back in it…… Enjoy…_

**Matter of Pride**

"I'm NOT going to babysit a bunch of fucking ugly crankshafts!" Sunstreaker snarled as he stood his ground. Glaring defiantly up at Optimus, his optics just dared him to take him on.

Not wanting this fight, even though his opponent would most surely lose, Optimus rapped his digits along his side armor, trying to figure out how to convince the mech to do his duty. He had a major problem it seemed. He needed a mech that was not only capable of keeping up with the two swift con femmes – but could also fight and win solo if need be. Unfortunately only the former gladiator met those particular qualifications. A gladiator that happened to not even like the two femmes!

But they needed to keep them safe. Keep the sparklings safe. Battle was looming in the near future. And they faced an enemy far stronger than any they had faced before. So there was only one way to keep the future safe. And that was to hide them. To do that – he HAD to convince this mech to accept the assignment he was given. This was far easier said than done though..

Ironhide tapped his shoulder. "I got this one Prime," he said with a smirk.

Since he didn't have any better ideas, the leader stepped back and let the Weapon Specialist handle this slight personnel issue. He was very curious as to what he had up his barrel… He doubted that blasting the yellow mech a new one was going to work. And what else would the ornery Ironhide think of?

"Your big guns ain't gonna change my meta," Sunstreaker snorted. He geared up his linkages just in case the black mech decided to try that route. Sure Ironhide was fast – but the yellow mech had no doubt that HE was even faster.

"Now why would I go an' do that?" Ironhide purred. His tone got lower, as if he was telling the mech a big secret. "When you're the only mech I'd even allow ask Bumblebee out when she's ready."

Optimus's optics got huge in surprise; his mouth falling open in shock. He was about to stammer a question when Ironhide cut him off.

"Sorry Prime, but after that threesome ya'll had, little Bee told me she wasn't interested in ya at all. Don't take it too hard." At this point, Ironhide gave him a conspiratorial wink.

Somehow the big mech realized that the Weapon Specialist was just leading Sunstreaker on. The arrogant yellow mech was probably the LAST one that the overprotective hen would allow to date his adopted daughter. Relaxing a bit, Prime simply nodded and continued to watch the interchange in amusement. This was a tactic that he'd never seen his old friend use – or even thought he was aware of its existence!

A creepy sensation worked its way up the big mech's circuits. Had Frenzy been busily teaching Ironhide HER tricks – while Ironhide had been teaching her his??? He didn't know if he should be afraid – or completely terrified.

"You fraggin' had a THREESOME?!?" Sunstreaker glared at him accusingly. "What about your rule in no one even approaching her for three years?!?" He put a digit in Prime's face plate, his optics shooting daggers….

Optimus shrugged, "It wasn't my idea." Actually, it wasn't – now was it? He hadn't expected to be ambushed, electrocuted, tied up and forced either… He glanced at Ironhide, once again wondering just how in the slag did the mech think all that stuff was erotic.

"Yeah right. I wasn't slaggin' sparked yesterday. You're nothing but a Primus-damned hypocrite!" His handsome face plate was becoming hot with rage. HE wanted Bumblebee – NOT that freagin' ugly Barricade who was constantly harassing him!

Ironhide chuckled mischievously and slapped Prime on the shoulder armor. "Thought Frenzy taught ya to enjoy being shackled?" he teased.

Rolling his optics, Prime couldn't help but to clench a hand into a fist. "For seventy-two hours I thought about what I was going to do a particular mech for teaching the technique TO her. Perhaps I should not delay a certain aft whooping?"

The teased threat didn't phase the black mech much. "Welp, we're gonna be on the road without my mate for a while. And I like a little pain with my pleasure." His reference was plain. Ratchet hadn't been the only mech he'd found a little release with before the femmes had emerged from hiding – and everyone knew it.

"Suck each other's tailpipes in private," Sun snorted. Not that he was any different from them. A mech found release however he could. He turned back to Prime. "So you've already mated with her then? You're a fucking selfish prick – you know that?"

"Negative on both those counts Sunstreaker." Prime crossed his arms and gave the mech a grin. He envisioned Sun shackled spread eagled on the ground being forced to witness two femmes bonding. Truth be told, it was quite a satisfying vision. Maybe he'd ask Ironhide to allow Frenzy to 'teach' Barricade those tricks? Spread the 'love' around a bit…

"He said you had a threesome. So just what WAS Bumblebee doing with you then? Hmmmm?" Sarcasm dripped from every word. Sunstreaker couldn't believe that any mech wouldn't thrust his transfer into Bee at the first opportunity.

"She was playing with Frenzy." Why not be honest about it? Heck, with Frenzy's big mouth most mechs already had an idea of what had occurred. So much for kiss and not tell….

"So you just sat there and watched them? Yeah right. Like my processor's so slow as to believe THAT!"

Breaking into the conversation, Ironhide's chuckle made them both look his way. "Young mech, the WORST way to torture a mech is to chain him up and MAKE him watch two femmes going at it." With a look of pride he straightened his shoulders. "Glad I trained my femme juuuuuusssstttt right!"

Optimus snorted and shook his head, still wondering at the slight insanity his Weapons Master showed. HOW he could find a femme like Frenzy – sexy – was beyond his understanding. Especially after being her somewhat unwilling bonding captive for almost three days! Primus he hoped she was pregnant now, because he was NEVER EVER going to breed that psycho femme again! And just how was he going to pay the mech back for that underhanded trick anyways???

"So you DIDN'T do her?" Sunstreaker's face plate lit up. He still lusted after the young femme. Every night he thought about her yellow armor under his digit-tips. Their matching armor meeting in the darkness….

"Course he didn't. Frenzy asked Bee if she wanted a piece – and she didn't." Ironhide was lying through his dental plates on that one – but Prime wasn't about to correct him.

"Why not?" the yellow mech was a little suspicious now; what femme wouldn't want to bed the most powerful mech functioning? Isn't that what femmes liked?

"Cus she likes mechs her size. Well, that's what she told Frenzy," Ironhide replied with a shrug. "An' she won't do nothin' without Frenzy there. So if ya get in good with Frenzy.."

"She might talk Bumblebee into dating me." Sunstreaker easily made the connection now. He'd have to befriend the freak in order to obtain what he wanted; Which meant, he should be the one 'guarding' her – then he'd have plenty of time to figure out how to make Frenzy come around.

But there was a problem though. If Bee didn't do anything without Frenzy – and Frenzy was Ironhide's mate…. "What about Frenzy? I don't want to do her too – no offense 'Hide."

The black mech just chuckled. "The more the merrier….." he said evasively…..

------

Optimus watched the trio and sparklings as they disappeared into the distance. "You weren't really serious were you?" he asked the mech standing next to him.

"Naw, ya know me." Ironhide smirked as he rested an arm around his daughter's – no, now she was to be considered a mech again – shoulder armor. "An don't ya worry 'bout it Bee. I just told him he'd get 'A' date. Didn't tell him it would be supervised."

"You sure? I don't like him like that," Bumblebee stammered, her – no his – face plate heating up. She didn't like the fact that they had had to trick the gladiator into protecting the Decepticon femmes and sparklings – especially using her as the bait to lure him in.

"Yeah, I'm sure. 'Cus 'ol Ratchet's gonna be the one supervisin'," he replied with a conspiratorial wink.

This caused both mechs to roar with laughter. Even Bumblebee began to grin. For now that she'd come clean and had quietly tried to accept the timetable – Ratchet had actually become a good friend to her. She knew he'd tear the yellow mech a new one if he tried anything!

---

Note: Next part of this trilogy can be found at: http : // www . fanfiction . net /s/ 5187855 /1/ (hint: take out the spaces)


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